With roots in the Netherlands and Spain, the Baroque and early Classical chamber orchestra La Ritirata over its decade of existence has become a truly European ensemble, with appearances all over the continent and beyond. The group, in its own words, has striven to combine accurate historical awareness (defined as a knowledge not only of historical instruments but of relevant aesthetic principles) with a high artistic level. La Ritirata was founded in the Netherlands in 2007 by Josetxu Obregón, a Bilbao-born cellist who had studied in The Hague and had switched his focus from the modern cello to Baroque instruments. Its membership includes a new generation of early music players, such as Daniel Zapico, Tamar Lalo, and Enrike Solinís and Daniel Zapico, as well as the veteran Japanese-Austrian violinist Hiro Kurosaki. The group's name comes from the title of the final movement, "La Ritirata," of the programmatic string quintet La musica notturna della strade di Madrid by Luigi Boccherini that depicted various street scenes from the Spanish capital. La Ritirata has indeed emphasized the somewhat neglected music of Boccherini in its programming. The group has also performed Bach and Handel, court music of the early Baroque, the string quartets of Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga and other Spanish composers, music from 18th century Naples, operas by Antonio Caldara on Spanish sources, and more. La Ritirata has performed not only around Spain (including at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid and the Real Alcázar in Seville) and elsewhere in Europe (such as at the Potsdam Festival, the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, and the Festival Esterháza in Hungary), but at the National Theatre of Beijing and the CNART Early Music Festival in Mexico City. Its tenth anniversary season included a tour of Ecuador as well as appearances at the Festival de Música Española in Cádiz, the Mozartwoche in Salzburg, the Thüringer Bachwochen in eastern Germany, and once again at the Auditorio Nacional de Música, where they performed in a semi-staged version of the rare Caldara opera Don Chisciotte in corte della Duchessa. La Ritirata made its recording debut on the Columna Musica label in 2012 with an album of Boccherini string trios, but since then has recorded mostly for Spain's Glossa label. In 2018 La Ritirata released an album of Neapolitan concertos for diverse instruments. ~ James Manheim, Rovi