François-Xavier Roth l The conductor creates a What The France playlist

French conductor and founder of l’Ensemble Les Siècles has put together an exclusive playlist for What The France.

François-Xavier Roth has chosen 50 of his favourite recordings by French performers, featuring works by Bach, Debussy, Dukas, Lully, Boulez and Manoury, but also some surprise inclusions like Daniel Balavoine et Jacques Brel. Among the French performers are peers like Sebastien Daucé’s Ensemble Correspondances and Raphael Pichon’s Ensemble Pygmalion, as well as Julien Chauvin’s Le Concert de la Loge. There are also internationally renowned soloists like flute player Emmanuel Pahud, harpsichordist Pierre Hantaï and pianist Jean-François Heisser. They are joined by the Quatuor Ebene, the Quintette de Cuivres and Roth’s own Ensemble Les Siècles.

François-Xavier Roth is one of the most charismatic and enterprising conductors of his generation. He has been the Generalmusikdirektor of Cologne since 2015, responsible for the opera and the Gürzenich Orchestra. He is also the Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, associate orchestra of the Philharmonie de Paris and was named artistic director of Tourcoing’s Atelier Lyrique in 2019.

He created Les Siècles, a new kind of orchestra that changes instruments according to the musical era of the repertoire they’re playing, in 2003. He has traveled the world with the ensemble, performing work from the French Romantic repertoire or Russian ballet on instruments from the period. Their first performances were at the Berliner Philharmonie in 2019 with the kind of programme (Rameau, Lachenmann and Berlioz), using three different instrumentaria, that would become their trademark. As well as winning a Victoire de la Musique in France in 2018, they were also nominated in 2018 and 2019 by Gramophone magazine for the prestigious Orchestra of the Year prize.

Curators

A Made In France Selection By François-Xavier ...

Discover a selection of made in France tracks, handpicked by François-Xavier Roth.

Share Facebook Twitter Email

Listen now