# TopicsAnniversary Baroque CD New Releases Early music festival Focus guests Guide to the Baroque Summer Heritage History interview music pictures of the Week Playlist of the week Portrait Presto Records Report Video of the week Young talents
With their ensemble La Rêveuse, Florence Bolton and Benjamin Perrot have devoted ten years to exploring English music of the eighteenth century. Their project, “London,” brought to life in the form of four recordings, stands out for its singular ambition: to link the musical history of that period with contemporary movements of populations and artists.
At the head of Le Concert d’Astrée for a quarter of a century, Emmanuelle Haïm remains one of the major figures on the international baroque scene. This year, in addition to a busy European season, she has taken on the artistic direction of the first Handel Project Festival, the fruit of a long collaboration with the LA Phil, while also being involved in educational initiatives in northern of France.
At 28, soprano Julie Roset makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York this November 2025. She agreed to share her rehearsal diary, filled with very personal reflections, with Total Baroque Magazine. Discover the third and final episode of her chronicle: opening night!
In a bend of the Danube, 80 km from Vienna, Melk Abbey (Austria) hosts a Baroque music festival every year at Pentecost, set against an enchanting backdrop. Artistic director and tenor Michael Schade has just unveiled the 2026 edition.
A first: after 27 years of activity and numerous recordings, Vincent Dumestre and his ensemble Le Poème Harmonique are taking on Johann Sebastian Bach for the very first time this December, with the Magnificat in its 1723 Christmas version. But they are not forgetting Italian music either, with a major 2026 project in Rome, Venice and Naples.
The second instalment of our series: between intense first rehearsals for Arabella at the Met, warm reunions with friends, and autumn breaths of fresh air in the city, 28-year-old Julie Roset keeps a captivating diary of her debut at the celebrated New York opera house.
Dutch classical violinist Charlotte Spruit only discovered the Baroque instrument at university, but now they’re linked for life. She looks back on this unexpected turning point, her first steps on gut strings, the momentum sparked by the Bach Competition, and how she now moves between Baroque and modern, refusing to choose one over the other.
Founded in 1980, the Ricercar label celebrates forty-five years of existence with quiet discretion. An opportunity to take stock with founder Jérôme Lejeune about the complicated economics of the CD, and its indispensable role as both a tool of memory and a musicological act.
