Philippe Pierlot

Philippe Pierlot was born in Liège. Initially, he explored the guitar and the lute as an autodidact, then, he turned his attention to the viola da gamba, which he studied with Wieland Kuijken. Dividing his time between playing the viola and conducting, he devotes himself to chamber music and the oratorio and opera repertoire. He has edited and reconstructed a number of works, including Bach’s St Mark Passion and the operas Sémélé by Marin Marais and Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria by Monteverdi. Seeking opportunities for atypical musical encounters around the viola da gamba that aim to weave folk tradition with modernity, alongside regular recital and concert performances with his own ensemble, Pierlot enjoys collaborating with Jordi Savall and the group Hespérion XXI. His most recent albums recorded on the Mirare label include Bach’s Cantatas, Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri and works by Marin Marais. Keen to support and promote young artists, he founded fifteen years ago the Flora record label, which offers musicians the opportunity to create their own projects. He is a professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and the director of the festival Le Printemps baroque in the Belgian town of Spa, where since 2015 he has been organising an international seminar focusing on the viola da gamba, as well as a series of summer concerts allowing young creative artists to present their own vision of early music.