When François-Xavier Roth founded "Les Siècles" in 2003, it was not just a matter of providing the classical music scene with another top-class special ensemble. Rather, the idea behind it was to try out new concert forms: Music in hospitals, old people's homes and prisons, supplemented by a TV show and a training site near Paris. And there is another special feature: the musicians of "Les Siècles" have a fund of instruments from different epochs at their disposal to give each work the appropriate sound. Their repertoire is correspondingly broad, ranging from baroque to modern; their CD recordings have already won numerous awards. "Les Siècles" is in residence at the Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing and, from the 2022-2023 season, at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris. CLOSE

In 2020, François-Xavier Roth received the Honorary Award of the German Record Critics: as a musician who sets new standards, according to the jury's statement. This outlines the work of the organist's son, who was born in 1971: After studying flute and conducting in Paris, he earned his merits in London, Cardiff and Liège before becoming principal conductor of the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg in 2011. In parallel, he has repeatedly succeeded in giving new impetus to the scene, especially through the founding of "Les Siècles" with its wide-ranging musical and social activities. Roth is currently General Music Director of the City of Cologne and Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra; in 2025 he will return to SWR, then as head of the merged orchestra in Stuttgart. CLOSE

Even in the provinces, many a singing talent lies dormant, for example in Canada. In 2000, the then 25-year-old Marie-Nicole Lemieux from the hinterland of Québec astonished the jury of the renowned Brussels Concours Reine Elisabeth: in addition to the 1st prize, she won the special prize for lied singing. Since then, the contralto has repeatedly devoted herself to the Lied genre, with recordings of Schumann and Brahms as well as the great orchestral songs of Mahler, Wagner and Elgar. Above all, however, she attracted the attention of baroque specialists: she sang the title role in Handel's "Giulio Cesare" and shone in operas by Monteverdi and Vivaldi. Lemieux has since appeared on all the major stages in Europe, at La Scala and Covent Garden as well as in Berlin, Munich, Vienna and Madrid. CLOSE

When Mahler's "Lied von der Erde" was performed at the 2022 Vienna Festival in the Musikverein, it was Andrew Staples who made a lasting impression: "Outstanding," was the verdict of the "Standard". Indeed, the Briton, trained at St Paul's Cathedral and the Royal College of Music, is considered one of the most versatile tenors of his generation. Conductors such as Simon Rattle, Andrew Manze and Daniel Harding regularly engage him; he can be heard as Tamino as well as in Britten's "War Requiem" or in Martinu's "Gilgamesh". Staples' versatility also includes his activities as a director, photographer and film producer. He brought the "Magic Flute" to Africa, staged in a Berlin techno club and realized several projects in the Middle East - according to the motto that music helps us to change the world. CLOSE

How do you think people make love in other parts of the world? This question seems to have preoccupied many in France, which had always shown a penchant for exotic themes, at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1735, court composer Jean-Philippe Rameau provided illustrative material: his ballet opera "Les Indes Galantes" is set in exquisite places such as Persia, Peru and Turkey, among noble savages and Muslims in love. Rameau's music is also spectacularly colorful, embedding the plot in a multitude of dances and airs - a representative selection of which can be experienced in concert with "Les Siècles".

An orchestral song cycle of symphonic character - that is Gustav Mahler's "Lied von der Erde", composed between Symphonies 8 and 9 and also stylistically between the genres. The work has existential themes in common with Mahler's great vocal symphonies: death, transience, eternal life. However, its textual basis is different, namely a collection of ancient Chinese poems that gave the composer comfort in a time of severe blows of fate. From them he formed one of his most profound, shattering works ever: "The most personal thing I've done so far."