Freiburg Baroque Orchestra

The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra (FBO), which was founded in 1987 and has become acclaimed for its  cultivated and rousing ensemble playing, covers a wide repertoire from the 17th century to the present. The FBO’s artistic credo is creative curiosity with the intention of playing works in as lively and expressive a manner as possible. Its members perform as soloists and also appear in demanding solo concertos. The FBO’s position in international musical life can be seen in its close collaborations with such artists as Andreas Staier and René Jacobs, as well as in its discography of more than 60 CDs and list of prominent awards. The magazine Opernwelt named the FBO its Orchestra of the Year in 2007; in the same year the ensemble won the Classical Brit Award, in 2008 the Edison Award, in 2009 the annual German Record Critics’ Prize, and in 2011 the Gramophone Award and the Echo Klassik Award. Through some 100 performances each year, the FBO appears in a variety of formations from chamber to opera orchestra and offers its own subscription series in Freiburg’s Concert Hall, the Liederhalle in Stuttgart, and the Philharmonie in Berlin, in addition to its international tours. These performances are led by selected conductors or by the FBO’s two concertmasters, Gottfried von der Goltz and Petra Müllejans. Petra Müllejans studied in Düsseldorf, New York, and Freiburg, where she earned her degree in solo performance under Rainer Kussmaul. Following this she specialized in playing baroque violin with Helga Thoeme and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Along with her work with the FBO, she performs regularly in a duo with Kristian Bezuidenhout and teaches at the Music Academy of Frankfurt am Main.

LUCERNE FESTIVAL (IMF) debut on 19 March 1997 with d’Astorga’s Stabat mater and Lotti’s Requiem under Thomas Hengelbrock.

August 2012