Paris / Berlin / Tourcoing, June 19th, 2026

“Music is a collective adventure” – With Antonello Manacorda, Les Siècles begin a new chapter in their history, alongside one of the most renowned European conductors of his generation.

“The contribution of Les Siècles to the interpretation of the French repertoire is essential. I also find myself questioning how Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Schumann or Stravinsky can sound in our own time, in the 21st century, on period instruments. An orchestra like Les Siècles offers the opportunity to engage fully in the rediscovery of European musical traditions. For me, music is a collective adventure, a process of shared listening and discovery.”

Born in Turin, based in Berlin, Manacorda is an internationally sought-after expert in historically informed performance. As artistic and music director of the Kammerakademie Potsdam from 2010 to 2025, he shaped the ensemble’s artistic identity and guided it to widespread acclaim, reflected in a series of recordings that were met with unanimous praise. Manacorda’s career was significantly influenced by his close collaboration with Claudio Abbado, who appointed him concertmaster of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester in 1994, when he was just twenty-four years old. He went on to become a founding member and long-standing concertmaster of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, where he developed a remarkable ability to inspire the soloists he worked with as a community.

Les Siècles – orchestra in residence at the Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing and, since the 2022/23 season, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris – stands among Europe’s foremost orchestras specializing in historically informed performance. The period instrument orchestra was founded in 2003 by François-Xavier Roth to broaden this musical approach to a larger span of repertoires. Antonello Manacorda is committed to carrying forward the tradition that has earned the orchestra its international reputation, while bringing to it his own artistic vision.

In the fall of 2025, Antonello Manacorda appeared as guest conductor with Les Siècles for a series of concerts in Amsterdam, Bruges, Tourcoing and Paris. This first collaboration sparked a mutual desire for a long-term partnership between Manacorda and the orchestra. The musicians have welcomed his appointment with unreserved enthusiasm. For Les Siècles, it marks the beginning of a new chapter. They collectively express their keenness: “From our very first rehearsals and concerts together, a genuine sense of trust was established. Antonello Manacorda sets the highest artistic standards while remaining deeply attentive to every single instrument. His active, engaged listening invites a truly collaborative process and opens up new possibilities within the orchestra. We were struck by how naturally his experience as an orchestral musician and concertmaster flows through his conducting. We cannot wait to explore new musical territory with him.”

Baptiste Charroing, General Director of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées: “Antonello Manacorda combines artistic excellence with an extraordinary ability to bring people and ideas together. His perspective on the European repertoire opens up new horizons for both Les Siècles and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. He embodies the culture of orchestraldialogue that Claudio Abbado championed. In his work, an in-depth exploration of sound goes hand in hand with genuine intellectual openness and a keen sensitivity to how music is heard and interpreted today. There is nothing dogmatic about his approach, it is guided by intuition and refinement, qualities that speak directly to the artistic identity of Les Siècles.”

Antonello Manacorda’s first season as artistic and musical director will open at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées with a new production of Jules Massenet’s Thaïs, presented in a version that restores passages unheard since the work’s premiere. The full program for the 2027/28 season will be announced in spring 2027. In the meantime, starting with the 2026/2027 season, the orchestra will have the pleasure of welcoming Antonello Manacorda back for a program centered on Debussy’s La Mer, to be performed in Munich and Hamburg.

Antonello Manacorda is frequently invited to work with renowned orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the Cleveland Orchestra. He is also a regular guest at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in London, the Bayerischen Staatsoper in Munich and the Staatsoper Wien.