Mozart: Krönungsmesse - Vesperae solennes de confessore

The all-Mozart Erato debut, in April 2017, of French conductor Laurence Equilbey and two ensembles she founded, the Accentus choir and the Insula Orchestra, is linked with the inauguration of a magnificent new performance venue: La Seine musicale, which occupies an island in the River Seine just outside Paris.

Equilbey and her aptly-named Insula Orchestra will be resident artists at La Seine musicale, and their opening weekend of concerts (22/23 April) offers a ‘surprise programme’ of music by Beethoven, Berlioz, Weber and Mozart. Mozart is central to the programming of the Insula Orchestra, which plays on period instruments and has been in existence since 2012.

The ensemble has acquired a reputation in France and internationally, having visited cities such as Vienna, Salzburg, Basel and London, where The Times praised Equilbey for the “verve and delicacy” of her conducting and the Financial Times concluded that “Laurence Equilbey’s ensemble … showcases the best in period-instrument performance.”