Boston Baroque Announces
Martin Pearlman’s Final Season
As Music Director
BOSTON, MA—As Boston Baroque prepares to launch its 52nd season, it will be the final one under its founder and Music Director. Martin Pearlman says 2024-25 will be his last full season; he will continue as Music Director Emeritus when a successor is appointed.
Boston Baroque's Board of Directors announced today that the 2024-25 season will be Martin Pearlman’s last full season as Music Director. In recognition of his immense contributions to the company and the wider international music community, Pearlman will take up the newly-created position of Music Director Emeritus once a successor is appointed. In this new role, he will maintain a formal connection to the organization he founded and will conduct select performances, while pursuing independent projects.
Boston Baroque plans a formal Music Director search at the start of its 2025-26 concert season. As part of that effort, the company will welcome guest conductors and prospective candidates for the Music Director role, marking the first time the ensemble has been under the baton of a musician other than Pearlman.
Pearlman's dedication to period instrument performance established him as a leading figure in the Boston musical community, as well as in national and international early music communities. Under his artistic leadership, Boston Baroque has become one of the world’s most highly-respected period instrument orchestras. Renowned as both a conductor and a harpsichordist, Pearlman has created a formidable legacy whose impact will endure for generations.
“When Boston Baroque started 50-plus years ago, it was at a time when there were no period-instrument orchestras in North America,” Pearlman says.
“We started with eight players and no staff. Today, we have an amazing ensemble with a wonderful organization behind it. Working with the musicians, guest soloists, staff and Board over the years, and getting to know our wonderful patrons and donors, has been one of the great privileges of my life. I look forward to the coming season, and to what the future holds for Boston Baroque.”
“Marty brought to America a new way to approach the Baroque repertoire, and audiences fell in love,” says Board of Directors Chair David Friend.
“For me, it was an eye-opener. Marty’s performances put Baroque masterpieces into a completely new light. He cultivated a generation of new musicians who could play period instruments and sing in a style that reflects what audiences might have heard hundreds of years ago. Now, half a century after Marty launched this company, period-instrument performances have caught on everywhere but under Marty’s leadership and guidance, Boston Baroque remains the granddaddy of them all.”
Carla Heaton, Boston Baroque’s Board President, says Pearlman’s impact on the field of Baroque and Classical music is beyond comparison. “While playing diverse roles as pioneer, conductor, composer, educator and mentor,” she says, “Marty continues to delight audiences with his sheer musicality, intelligence and commitment to artistry.”
Founded in 1973 as “Banchetto Musicale,” Boston Baroque’s orchestra comprises some of the finest period instrument players in the United States. The organization also boasts a professional chorus and is regularly joined by world-class instrumental and vocal soloists from around the globe.
The ensemble has performed at major music centers across the United States and was the first early music ensemble to perform at the renowned Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. Boston Baroque reaches an international audience with its twenty-six acclaimed recordings, for which it has received six GRAMMY® Award nominations.
###
MEDIA CONTACT: For more information about Martin Pearlman’s announcement, or to speak with him and others about this news, contact Lilly Schloeder: lschloeder@bostonbaroque.org | 757-679-1155