© Jean-Baptiste Millot
“Théotime Langlois de Swarte. Have you ever read such a fabulous name? and with fabulous playing to match, it’s a name to remember.” Gramophone
“France’s rising generation has some promising names. Topping that list for me is Le Consort founding violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte, whose recent The Mad Lover debut solo album for Harmonia Mundi was a stunner by any standard.” The Strad
Passion and eclecticism define Théotime Langlois de Swarte’s choice of repertoire, which ranges from the 17th century to contemporary creation.
He is the first baroque violonist to be nominated at the Victoires de la Musique Classique 2020 in the category « Revelation soliste instrumental ». He is well recognised with multiple baroque ensembles, particularly in France, such as Les Ombres, with which he has just recorded a CD with concertos by Vivaldi, Leclair and Locatelli, and Les Arts Florissants, with William Christie, with whom he will tour and record Haydn concertos in March 2022.
After studying at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP) in the class of Michaël Hentz, Théotime founded the ensemble Le Consort with the harpsichordist Justin Taylor. The ensemble was soon recognised as one of the most important of their generation, collaborating with opera artists such as Eva Zaïcik, Véronique Gens and Mathias Vidal. Their recordings for Alpha Classics/Outhere have been rewarded by the press: Choc Classica (Venez,chère Ombre) and Diapason d’Or of the year 2019 (Opus 1), as well as Royal Handel and, more recently, Specchio Veneziano with works by Italian composers, Reali and Vivaldi .
His concerts have taken him all over the world to prestigious venues such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Shanghai National Art Center, the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles and, more recently, to the Philharmonie de Paris where he gave a recital on the « Davidoff » Stradivarius violin, which is kept in the Musée de la Musique.
His performances are regularly recorded by Culturebox (Leclair’s Concerti at the Sablé sur Sarthe Festival, Sept Particules at the Deauville Festival, Baroque Affects with Eva Zaicik at the Salle Cortot, Vivaldi Concertos with the Jupiter Ensemble). 2020 marked the beginning of his collaboration as a soloist with the harmonia mundi label, where he recorded his first CD ‘The Mad Lover’ devoted to English music with lutenist Thomas Dunford, to great critical acclaim. Later this year, the label then released a second disc, ‘Proust, the regained concert’, with pianist Tanguy de Williencourt, the title evoking a concert that the French writer had organized in Paris, which Théotime recorded on the « Davidoff » Stradivarius from the Musée de la Musique in Paris. A third CD, featuring the duo he formed with William Christie with a French programme of sonatas by Leclair and Sénaillé, was released in July.
Théotime Langlois de Swarte is a laureate of the Banque Populaire Foundation and the Jumpstart Foundation. He plays on a Jacob Stainer violin of 1665.
