The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period-instrument orchestra founded in London in 1986. It serves as resident orchestra at the Southbank Centre and Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and works with Principal Artists including Sir Simon Rattle, Vladimir Jurowski, Iván Fischer, Sir Mark Elder, John Butt and András Schiff. The OAE has no permanent conductor - artistic leadership rotates among four players, and conductors are chosen individually for each programme. With a discography of more than 50 recordings, the orchestra marked its 40th anniversary during the 2025-26 season.
Arcana.fm celebrated OAE's 40th anniversary with a special playlist from the orchestra's discography, spanning from Rameau and Handel to Brahms and Mahler.
The 2025-26 season marked OAE's 40th anniversary with a series of international touring projects.
OAE performed Fanny Mendelssohn's Das Jahr alongside four newly composed works for an 1840s-period instrument orchestra by contemporary composers, including Roxanna Panufnik and Errollyn Wallen.
OAE performed at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. with Grammy-winning soprano Julia Bullock in a program of Baroque vocal and instrumental works.
OAE recorded Brahms' two piano concertos with András Schiff for ECM Records - one of the orchestra's most recent major studio projects.
