La Folia Barockorchester
La Folia Barockorchester is a Dresden-based Baroque orchestra that performs music the way it would have sounded in its own time. It was founded in 2007 by Robin Peter Müller, who serves as artistic director and concertmaster. The name comes from La Folia, a famous Baroque musical form that invites bold creativity.
The ensemble focuses on 17th- and 18th-century works, including pieces by Vivaldi and Handel, and music from the Dresden court by composers like Hasse, Heinichen and Lotti. The size of the orchestra changes with the project, from a small group to a full late-Baroque lineup.
They have taken part in international festivals and made recordings. In 2017 they released Rediscovered Treasures from Dresden, the first recording of anonymous violin concertos found in a cabinet behind the organ of the Dresden Hofkirche. The manuscripts, copies made by Johann Georg Pisendel, were preserved through fires. The musicians chose not to identify the composers, letting the music speak for itself. A reviewer praised their detailed, dance-like, buoyant playing.
The orchestra has worked with soloists such as Dorothee Mields, Regula Mühlemann, Hille Perl, Simone Kermes, Dorothee Oberlinger, Maurice Steger and Jan Vogler.
In 2021, during the Rheingau Musik Festival, they performed at the Basilica of Eberbach Abbey, presenting Baroque opera music mainly from Purcell’s King Arthur and The Fairy-Queen, with four vocal soloists including Anna Prohaska. The concert was broadcast live by ARD Radiofestival.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 09:55 (CET).