Originally, the aim of the musicians in the Freiburger Barockorchester was to enliven the world of Baroque music with new sounds. This they have succeeded in doing. Meantime, they also perform works by Beethoven, Schubert or Weber, and enjoy playing contemporary music. They play small group chamber music as well as symphonies for large orchestras.

In fact these musicians have one constant aim: the liveliest possible interpretation of the music, to which end they employ their temperament and virtuosity. They do not regard their musical practice as the homogeneous performance of everything without distinction. They want to know what they are playing and how it functions. And in their view they can best achieve this with historical instruments. In this sense they are, if you will, specialists, but specialists with a repertoire that extends over 200 years. One thing they certainly do not want is to make a museum of music. Just how determined they are to avoid any kind of false conservation is demonstrated in each and every one of their concerts at that moment when – as one critic put it – "everything skips, dances and swings".

Meantime the "FBO" has become an internationally sought-after chamber orchestra with engagements at the world's large concert halls.

The musicians have kept their name, but they have long since left their niche. They have also maintained their aspiration to co-determination and their delight in chamber music.