Les Siècles

Les Siècles is a French period instruments ensemble, founded in 2003 by conductor and artistic director François-Xavier Roth, to perform classical repertoire by following historic practices and playing authentic instruments. Les Siècles possesses a large collection of handmade instruments which were created in the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and post-Romantic eras, and the ensemble also employs conventional instruments in modern and contemporary works. Based in Paris and sponsored by Mécénat Musical Société Générale, the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, and DRAC Hauts-de-France, Les Siècles has given concerts across France, and toured Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Portugal, Italy, China, and Japan. Roth and Les Siècles have recorded the original versions of the three great Stravinsky ballets, L’Oiseau de feu, Petrouchka, and Le Sacre du printemps, as well as Ravel's complete Daphnis et Chloé, Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Liszt's Dante Symphony, and other major works that are seldom played on vintage instruments. Les Siècles provides educational services and performs for various institutions, including schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons. Presto, a television program on France 2, uses Les Siècles as a featured ensemble, appearing regularly since 2007. On May 29, 2013, Roth and Les Siècles participated in a re-creation of the premiere performance of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps for the centenary, employing only European instruments that were available in 1913; the concert was broadcast internationally from the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.