Formed around 1983-5 (historians have yet to agree on the exact birthdate) in the front room of a house in Linden Gardens, Chiswick, (London) it combined the talents of advanced music students, young professionals and talented amateurs. Many of the original members now have prominent careers in the early music field and some are still playing with the band.
It was the only 'original instrument' orchestra at that time in Europe to offer the opportunity of amateurs and professionals playing together in the emerging Early Music revival.
Linden Baroque still provides very useful experience for many types of player; the advanced baroque instrument student, the 'modern instrument' professional player making the transition to the baroque playing style, young professionals gaining experience 'between jobs' and talented dilettantes. We always play under an established leader and continuo player and many well-known professionals happily give up their time to perform with Linden Baroque. The mixture of personnel within the band ensures that its spirited performances are always of high quality, the core members ensuring Linden keeps its distinctive voice.
The instruments used are either 18th century originals or modern copies - some made by the players themselves and we play at “baroque pitch” of 415Hz. The instruments are at a lower tension than modern concert pitch and their design and set-up means they sound much softer and more subtle than today’s steel-strung and multiple-keyed successors, allowing the music to be heard closer to the way it was when it was composed.
Linden Baroque has played at venues stretching from Norfolk to Berlin to Rome (where it gave the first performances there of Purcell's King Arthur) and has a wide-ranging repertoire ranging from the familiar to the unheard. Together with the Linden Baroque Choir (founded in 1993) they gave first complete performances in this country of music by Jean Gilles and several first modern performances of music by J.F. Fasch. Linden Baroque issued a CD on the Meridian label of music by Fasch, which was well received and has been played on Radio 3 and Classic FM and has sold around the world. It is still available n Amazon and extracts are on our 'Performances' page.
It was the only 'original instrument' orchestra at that time in Europe to offer the opportunity of amateurs and professionals playing together in the emerging Early Music revival.
Linden Baroque still provides very useful experience for many types of player; the advanced baroque instrument student, the 'modern instrument' professional player making the transition to the baroque playing style, young professionals gaining experience 'between jobs' and talented dilettantes. We always play under an established leader and continuo player and many well-known professionals happily give up their time to perform with Linden Baroque. The mixture of personnel within the band ensures that its spirited performances are always of high quality, the core members ensuring Linden keeps its distinctive voice.
The instruments used are either 18th century originals or modern copies - some made by the players themselves and we play at “baroque pitch” of 415Hz. The instruments are at a lower tension than modern concert pitch and their design and set-up means they sound much softer and more subtle than today’s steel-strung and multiple-keyed successors, allowing the music to be heard closer to the way it was when it was composed.
Linden Baroque has played at venues stretching from Norfolk to Berlin to Rome (where it gave the first performances there of Purcell's King Arthur) and has a wide-ranging repertoire ranging from the familiar to the unheard. Together with the Linden Baroque Choir (founded in 1993) they gave first complete performances in this country of music by Jean Gilles and several first modern performances of music by J.F. Fasch. Linden Baroque issued a CD on the Meridian label of music by Fasch, which was well received and has been played on Radio 3 and Classic FM and has sold around the world. It is still available n Amazon and extracts are on our 'Performances' page.
Our Musical Director
Ashley Solomon, the well-loved flautist and recorder player and director of Florilegium is Head of Historical Performance at the Royal College of Music, where he has been a Professor since 1994. He is both a Fellow of the Royal College of Music (FRCM) and Royal Academy of Music (FRAM) in recognition of his outstanding services to music.
Past Musical Directors
Paul Goodwin, the famous baroque oboist and now international conductor was our first director and stayed with us until 1996 when his conducting career intensified. Paul became President of Linden Baroque and Walter Reiter, the renowned violinist with the English Concert - among many other top groups- and a widely loved teacher around the world, became our Musical Director.
Steven Devine was Musical Director from 2004-2018. Steven is widely known as one of our finest harpsichordists with many recordings to his name and is a director of great passion and style. He is harpsichordist with London Baroque in addition to his position as Co-Principal keyboard player and frequent director of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and is Professor of Fortepiano at Trinity College of Music. Stephen is one of the busiest baroque specialists and in 2018 became our Director Emeritus.
We work with a number of other leading early music directors such as Theresa Caudle, Catherine Martin, Peter Holman, Peter Fender, Simon Standage, Oliver John Ruthven
For a fuller description of the beginnings and development of Linden Baroque, see our scholarly account: 'Linden Baroque and its place in World
History' .
For a downloadable biography suitable for programmes, click here.
Linden Baroque is a registered Charity (No 1014921) and is self-supporting. In 1998/9 Linden Baroque was in receipt of a National Lottery Grant.
History' .
For a downloadable biography suitable for programmes, click here.
Linden Baroque is a registered Charity (No 1014921) and is self-supporting. In 1998/9 Linden Baroque was in receipt of a National Lottery Grant.