Margaret Faultless

Baroque Violin Consultant


You can contact Margaret care of Birmingham Conservatoire
Tel: 0121 331 5901

Margaret Faultless is an internationally renowned violinist - a specialist in historical performance practice and in great demand, particularly as a concertmaster and director.

Since 1989 she has been a leader of The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE), working with Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Roger Norrington, Ivan Fischer, Mark Elder and Vladimir Jurowski in diverse repertoire at major venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), Glyndebourne, the Salzburg Festival and in New York. She directed the orchestra on their first trip to Mexico, a series of Italian baroque programmes and at the gala re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall. She is currently the programme consultant for OAE.

For over 12 years Margaret led the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (ABO) under Ton Koopman, recording all the Bach cantatas, including every obligato for violin, violin piccolo and viola d’amore. She made her BBC Proms debut as soloist with the ABO in 1997. She was also a soloist on their first CD with Yo Yo Ma and a disc of Locatelli.

In 1996, with her husband Simon Whistler, they founded the ensemble 'Music for Awhile' and Margaret has directed the group in many programmes including English baroque opera, sequences of poetry with music and they have pioneered material from the British Library. They have recorded with flautist Wilbert Hazelzet and harpsichordist Matthew Halls. For three years a sponsorship initiative has enabled the ensemble perform in churches all over England. The 2007 season includes a series of chamber concerts at Conock Manor, the 12th Summer Festival at Alton Priors and performances in the Devizes Festival, Chirton, Nymet Rowland and Cardiff.

In 2000 Margaret was invited to become the Artistic Director of the newly formed orchestra Devon Baroque with whom she has directed over 60 performances, including many concerto appearances as soloist, oratorio and opera. They now have a significant presence in the West Country and in 2006 presented a highly successful Vivaldi Experience weekend at Dartington.

Margaret has been a member of the London Haydn Quartet for six years the first volumes of Haydn quartet recordings are being issued in 2007. She has a duo with pianist Adrian Partington with whom she is performing, in particular, the sonatas of Beethoven and Brahms.

She recently directed the Britten Pears Baroque Orchestra in a joint project with the OAE and Freiburg Baroque and later in 2007 will direct the European Union Baroque Orchestra, Philharmonie Merck and the Harmony of Nations Baroque Orchestra in major European tours.

Herself a graduate of Cambridge University she has been asked to become an Artistic Director of the Cambridge University Collegium Musicum, she lectures on performance practice, is the Director of Studies of the European Union Baroque Orchestra and is a frequent guest teacher and director at many leading conservatoires.

Research & Teaching Specialisms
  • Baroque violin
  • Baroque orchestra
  • Early chamber music