Philippe Pierlot (born 1958) is a Belgian

viola da gamba The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

player and a conductor in

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

. He is also an academic teacher at the royal conservatories of The Hague and Brussels.

Career

Born in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, Pierlot learned to play the recorder, the guitar and the lute at the age of twelve. He studied playing the viola da gamba with Wieland Kuijken. In 1980, he founded the ensemble Ricercar Consort, with the violinist François Fernandez and the keyboard player Bernard Foccroulle, focusing on the performance and recording of little-known music in

. Several contemporary compositions were dedicated to him. He also plays the baryton, for which

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

composed around 150 works. In 1999, he revived Marais's opera '' Sémélé'', which had not been performed for 300 years, after composing some missing parts. Until 2006, Pierlot was professor for viola da gamba at the . He has been a teacher at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.

Recording

Pierlot led series of recordings such as ''Deutsche Barockmusik'' and ''Deutsche Barockkantaten'', recorded the vocal works by Nicolaus Bruhns, the complete works by Matthias Weckmann and the works for viola da gamba by Marin Marais. His recording of three Christmas cantatas by Bach, in an approach with one voice on a part, was commented by a critic: "Pierlot conducts all three cantatas with a beat that pulses with life, and his speeds are judged just right – neither too fast nor too slow."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierlot, Philippe Viol players Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels 1958 births Living people Musicians from Liège