Raphaël Pichon, Following in Bach’s Footsteps
To mark Pygmalion’s 20th anniversary, Raphaël Pichon conceived a unique pilgrimage: to retrace on foot, along with his musicians, the journey that the young Johann Sebastian Bach undertook in 1705 from Arnstadt to Lübeck, in northern Germany, to further his musical education under the great Dietrich Buxtehude. After a first stage in Thuringia in 2024, which resonated widely through ARTE and France Musique, Raphaël Pichon and his ensemble are now setting off once again for Wolfenbüttel, Lüneburg, and Lübeck, in northern Germany.
Greg Skidmore: A Renaissance Man from Canada
As a teenager in Canada in the 1990s, Greg Skidmore could not fully pursue his passion for Renaissance polyphony. Having since become a London-based baritone, he founded the Canadian Renaissance Music Summer Schools to offer others what he himself had lacked: the opportunity to study, sing and pass on this repertoire at the highest level.
Queen Dido Returns to Tunis
On May 14 and 15, Les Épopées and Stéphane Fuget bring Queen Dido back to the Tunis Opera House in her homeland, since, according to Purcell’s opera—based on Virgil’s Aeneid—she was the one who founded the nearby city of Carthage. This new production is distinctive in combining the ensemble’s historically informed performance practice with Middle Eastern music and dance.
Explore the island and meet the partners of Total Baroque
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La Trinité, Lyon: Furioso, fury, madness and virtuosity of a baroque hero played by Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu and countertenor Xavier Sabata. Tuesday June 9th 8 p.m. Reservation: https://trinitelyon-com
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The Bachwochen Thun celebrate Johann Sebastian Bach in the heart of the Berner Oberland from August 16 to September 6: a living festival where tradition and the present meet. International artists, local roots, and innovative projects connect 300 years of musical heritage with our time.
Presto
News of the week
- Farinelli Live: Baroque Cinema in Concert at Porto For the first time ever, the iconic film Farinelli by Gérard Corbiau will be presented as a live cine-concert. On June 7, 2026, at the Casa da Música, in Porto ( Portugal) the James Whale Orchestra joins forces with the Orquestra Barroca Casa da Música to perform the celebrated soundtrack live on period instruments, offering […]
- Ulrike Shapiro new Managing Director of Concerto Köln On 1 June 2026, Ulrike Shapiro will take over as Managing Director of the long-established early music ensemble Concerto Köln. An internationally experienced cultural manager and musician, she combines strategic expertise with a deep understanding of artistic practice. Ulrike Shapiro has lived in the USA for many years and brings extensive experience in cultural management […]
- 18-21 June, Montréal Baroque Festival The 24th edition of the Montréal Baroque Festival invites you – in a highly original way – to experience music differently, with some twenty events taking place in Old Montréal and the Quartier des Spectacles. From 18 to 21 June, the Festival presents a programme in which works from the 17th and 18th centuries appeal […]
- The Innsbruck Early Music Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026. The Innsbruck Early Music Festival will celebrate its 50th anniversary from 24 July to 30 August 2026. The highlight of this edition will be the baroque opera par excellence: Pietro Antonio Cesti’s Il pomo d’oro, a legendary composition by the great composer of the Innsbruck court. Under the musical direction of Ottavio Dantones, Il pomo […]
- Freiburg Baroque Orchestra to have a new management team From July 2026, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra (FBO) will have a new management team: Selma Brauns will take over as Artistic Director, and Paul Enke as Commercial Director. Together, they will form the ensemble’s new dual leadership. Hans-Georg Kaiser, the outgoing Managing Director and Artistic Director, will remain with the FBO in a new role […]
- Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, founder of the Tölzer Knabenchor , has died Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, founder and, for six decades (until 2016), director of the world-famous Tölzer Knabenchor, passed away peacefully at his home in Benediktbeuern on, 19 April, at the age of 88, following a prolonged illness. Schmidt-Gaden, who had founded the choir from a scout group, had already taken an interest in historical performance practice in […]
- The Venice Music Project’s 2026 Spring Season The Venice Music Project’s 2026 spring concert season unfolds around three key themes: Affetti, teatro, Meraviglia, a journey through vocal music from the 17th to the early 18th century More than just a title, these concepts offer a listening perspective that spans much of European musical culture from the 17th to the 18th century. In Baroque musical […]
- 21 March, International Early Music Day 21 March 2026 marks the 14th edition of International Early Music Day. This day is a project of the European Early Music Network (REMA/EEMN), launched in 2013 on the initiative of its former president, Peter Pontvik of Sweden. REMA/EEMN, the only representative network for early music in Europe, is the official organiser and coordinator of […]
Women composers
Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, the child prodigy of Louis XIV’s court, is familiar enough; Anna Bon and Wilhelmine von Bayreuth, musicians connected with the Bayreuth milieu and with the flute, an instrument dear to Frederick II, are heard less often. With Compositrices, the flautist Marta Gawlas brings these three figures together in a single gesture: to reveal, without any heavy-handed manifesto, the refinement of their writing and the inventiveness of women composers still too rarely represented on disc. A luminous way into a repertoire waiting to be rediscovered.
Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba
We may think we know Bach’s sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord; here, Atsushi Sakai and Christophe Rousset restore them to their share of mystery. Works that are hard to place, whether a genuine cycle or a gathering of independent pieces, they become here a space of close dialogue between viol and harpsichord, between contrapuntal rigour, inner song and meditation.
Furioso
Orlando furioso never ceased to exert its pull on the Baroque imagination. With “Furioso”, Xavier Sabata, Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu and Franck-Emmanuel Comte offer a concentrated journey through it, in which Ariosto’s hero appears by turns as knight, lost lover, figure of fury and wavering soul. An album built like an inner theatre.
“Tranquilles cœurs”
On this debut album, the Théodora ensemble takes listeners on a journey through France and the German-speaking world, from Lully and Campra to the Krieger brothers, where styles intersect and transform. Carried by a distinctive vocal palette and a finely articulated continuo, the recording highlights the variety of compositional approaches and characters.
Our series
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Countertenors: the South American pathway There are several of them, from different generations—Franco Fagioli, Bruno de Sá, Maximiliano Danta, Dennis Orellana and Samuel Mariño—all originating from South America and now pursuing careers on European stages. How and why did they cross the oceans?
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Baroque Masters Baroque Masters paints a portrait of legendary figures who shaped the interpretation of early music. From visionary violinist Reinhard Goebel, who moved from Baroque research to modern orchestras, to pioneering conductor Andrew Parrott, advocate of a lively and rigorous approach, each episode explores a common quest: to rediscover the profound meaning of phrasing and the original spirit of the works. Lutenist Hopkinson Smith, a master of transmission, rubs shoulders with the great “baroque musicians” of the 20th century, such as Sigiswald Kuijken, whose commitment to historically informed performance has influenced generations of artists. A series dedicated to the passionate craftsmen who have breathed new life and authenticity into the Baroque.
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A sopranist physician's diary (1 to 3) Philipp Mathmann, soprano and countertenor, performs on the world's greatest opera and concert stages, while also pursuing an equally demanding career as a physician. Here, he offers a deeply personal account of his daily life.
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Lucile Richardot’s Diary (1 to 3) During the summer of 2025, at the Salzburg Festival, French mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardot recounts her experiences behind the scenes of Handel's Giulio Cesare, in which she played Cornelia in a production directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov and conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm. Between cargo bike rides, persistent rain, marathon rehearsals, fights on stage, bruises on her body, stress before the dress rehearsal, and a lost contact lens, she delivers the diary of an intense and unique artistic adventure, divided between rehearsals, stage performances, and moments of everyday life.
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The Diary of Julie Roset (1 to 3) At 28 years old, young French soprano Julie Roset is making her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York… She tells us about her daily life and behind the scenes at the MET, from October 6 to November 7, 2025.
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Musical Europe of the Renaissance (1 to 4) Belgian musicologist Jérôme Lejeune, director of the Ricercar label, invites you to rediscover in this four-part series the musical ferment of Renaissance Europe, at the crossroads of circulating ideas, aesthetic upheavals, and great personalities.
