Smetana Litomyšl Festival • Nicholas Kraemer

Nicholas Kraemer

harpsichord, conductor

Nicholas Kraemer, a pioneer of historically informed interpretation and now chief guest conductor of the Chicago-based orchestra Music of the Baroque, has earned an international reputation for leading ensembles specializing in early music. He began his career as a harpsichordist, but soon moved to the front of the orchestra, conducting directly from this instrument. He has held positions as artistic director of the Irish Chamber Orchestra and the London Bach Orchestra, was the first music director of the British company English Touring Opera and founded the ensemble The Raglan Baroque Players.

However, he also guest conducts modern orchestras (especially in the US and the UK, but also, for example, the Berlin Philharmonic), which he guides toward informed interpretation. Although Baroque is his main specialization, his repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to the present day. In Paris, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Geneva, Bergen, and Marseille, he has conducted numerous operas by Richard Strauss, Britten, Mozart, and others.

The music of George Frideric Handel plays an important role in his conducting and performing activities. In the spring of 2025, on the occasion of his 80th birthday, he performed Handel’s oratorio Theodora with the Music of the Baroque orchestra and choir. He also has a close relationship with Handel’s oratorio Messiah, which he first heard at the age of nine at an orchestra rehearsal in Edinburgh, where his mother played. He was very impressed by the work and has performed it more than a hundred times during his conducting career. In 2022, he also successfully recorded it and released it on CD.

He also performed this work during his debut with the Czech Philharmonic, together with the Prague Philharmonic Choir and leading British soloists in 2024 – the performance was praised by critics and hailed as one of the highlights of the season. He returned to the Czech Republic a year later to conduct Bach’s Mass in B minor, and also appeared here in June 2026 with the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra performing a program of early music that included, among other works, three of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos.

Kraemer’s discography is also extensive – examples include Vivaldi’s concertos with the City of London Sinfonia chamber orchestra, Locatelli’s Concerti grossi, Tartini’s Violin concertos, and concertos by Durante, Pergolesi, and Leo with violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch and the Raglan Baroque Players.

A three-part series is available on YouTube, in which Nicholas Kraemer talks to Sir Simon Rattle as part of the accompanying program to the concerts of the Music of the Baroque orchestra. This informal and friendly discussion between the two conductors offers listeners an interesting insight into their memories and personal experiences, not only with Baroque music. Nicholas Kraemer has also been involved in several feature films, most notably as Baroque music director for the film The Madness of King George.