Barthold Kuijken is among the most prominent musicians involved in the performance of early music on authentic instruments. He often appears in concert with his brothers Wieland, a cellist and viola da gamba player, and Sigiswald, a violinist, viol player, and conductor. Often, Paul Dombrecht joins them on oboe, with either Gustav Leonhardt or Robert Kohnen on harpsichord. Though Barthold Kuijken's flute and recorder repertory largely falls into the Baroque era, he plays works by Haydn (divertimentos and trios), Mozart (the flute quartets), Schubert (violin/flute sonatas), and other pieces from the Classical era. Kuijken teamed with Immanuel Davis in 2021 on the album La Magnifique: Flute Music for the Court of Louis XIV.

Kuijken was born into a musically gifted family on March 8, 1949, in Dilbeek (near Brussels), Belgium. He is the youngest of the three Kuijken brothers and thus benefited from his older siblings' example and teaching. Barthold studied music at the Bruges Conservatory, the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music, and the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. At the latter school, Frans Vester instructed him on flute, and Frans Brüggen on recorder.

Kuijken became interested in the Baroque flute at the Brussels Conservatory and began teaching himself to play the instrument from that time. After his student years, he began regularly appearing in concert engagements with his brothers and other musicians. Eventually, the Kuijkens toured Europe, much of Asia, Australia, Israel, and the Americas. Sigiswald Kuijken founded La Petite Bande in 1972, and from around that time, Barthold began appearing as a regular member of the ensemble. By the later 20th century, he was well established on the concert scene as well as in the recording studio. Kuijken typically appears in chamber music performances, but he has devoted much time throughout his career to playing in early music ensembles such as the Parnassus Ensemble and Collegium Aureum along with the aforementioned La Petite Bande. Kuijken began conducting as well as performing in 1986, and in 2002, he became the artistic director and conductor of the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.

Kuijken has appeared on more than 50 recordings spread across several labels, including Sony Classical, Harmonia Mundi, and EuroArts, among others. In the new century, Kuijken's recordings continued appearing frequently. Among his efforts was the 2008 Accent release French and Italian Flute Music of the 18th Century, on which he was joined by his brother Wieland and Robert Kohnen. In 2020, Barthold led the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra on the Naxos album The Colourful Telemann, conducting and soloing on his Baroque flute. In 2021, Kuijken joined Immanuel Davis on the Naxos release La Magnifique: Flute Music for the Court of Louis XIV.

He has continued to remain active in the new century in his other profession, that of flute teacher at both the Hague and Brussels Conservatories. Kuijken is also an honorary charter member of the Indyflute organization. ~ Robert Cummings & Keith Finke

Belgian period instrument orchestra La Petite Bande takes its name and constitution from Lully's own orchestra at the court of Louis XIV. It was founded in 1972 by violinist and conductor Sigiswald Kuijken in order to record Lully's Le bourgeois gentilhomme with Gustav Leonhardt for Deutsche Harmonia Mundi. Although it had only been put together for a few recordings, it soon established a reputation as a leader in the performance of French Baroque music. La Petite Bande began giving regular concerts and appearing at festivals throughout the world. The orchestra's repertoire expanded to include music by Bach, Handel, Gluck, Haydn, and Mozart. La Petite Bande is subsidized by the Ministry of the Flemish Community of Belgium and by the Province of Vlaams-Brabant. Since 1997, La Petite Bande has been orchestra-in-residence in Leuven. Between 2005 and 2012, the ensemble and Kuikjen recorded a cycle of Bach's liturgical cantatas.

In 2009, La Petite Bande was told its funding would be cut after 2010, thus spurring a successful online effort to save the group. Later recordings include Monteverdi: Vespro della Beate Vergine (2008) and Bach: H-Moll-Mess (2009).

Sigiswald Kuijken has been a pioneer in performing and teaching the Baroque violin technique. He and his brothers were all exposed to early instruments as children. Sigiswald and Wieland intuitively taught themselves how to play the viola da gamba.

Sigiswald was born on February 16, 1944, in Dilbbek, Belgium. He studied violin at the conservatory in Bruges, then in Brussels with Maurice Raskin, earning his degree in 1964. After doing his own research into Baroque performance practice, Kuijken began playing Baroque works on the violin without using a chinrest or shoulder rest and, in fact, not using his chin at all to hold the instrument. He began teaching this method, and others quickly adopted it. Kuijken taught Baroque violin at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague (1971-1996) and the Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium in Brussels (1993-2009). He is frequently invited to teach at the Royal College of Music in London, Salamanca University, and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, among other schools.

Kuijken performed with the Alarius Ensemble between 1964 and 1972, and then at the encouragement of the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi label and Gustav Leonhardt, founded his own orchestra, La Petite Bande, to perform Baroque and Classical works. He has traveled throughout Europe, North America, Australia, China, and Japan with La Petite Bande, and together they have recorded works by Lully, Pergolesi, Mozart, Haydn, Bach, and Geminiani. He also undertook more independent projects with others, such as his brothers Wieland and Barthold, Gustav Leonhardt, Robert Kohnen, Anner Bylsma, Frans Brüggen, and René Jacobs.

In 1986, he and his brother Wieland founded the Kuikjen String Quartet with François Fernandez, Marleen Thiers, and sometimes joined by violist Ryo Terakado, specifically to perform Classical period quartets and quintets. That same year, Kuijken conducted the inaugural concert in London of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. In the late 1990s, he began doing more conducting of modern orchestras in works of Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms. Along with his time spent performing with brothers Wieland and Barthold, Sigiswald has been performing in expanded family ensembles since 1998. He is often joined by daughters Veronica (piano), Sara (viola), and Marie (soprano). These ensembles include the Kuijken Piano Quartet, with Veronica, Sara, and Michel Boulanger (cello), and lieder performances with Marie.

Kuijken has had an extensive recording career, recording with labels such as Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Accent, Brilliant Classics, and Challenge Classics. Major projects have included the sonatas of Mozart, Mozart's and Debussy's chamber music with his brothers, and Bach's cantatas with La Petite Bande, recorded between 2006 and 2012. In 2019, Kuijken issued albums of Heinrich Schütz's Resurrection of Christ, on Accent, and Bach's Matthäus-Passion, on Challenge Classics. ~ Patsy Morita