Jonathan Cohen is among the most versatile musicians on the international early music scene, excelling as a cellist, keyboardist, and conductor. Early in his career, Cohen was active mostly as a cellist, performing with both mainstream and historically oriented ensembles. He founded the Picander Ensemble in 2004. He served as an assistant conductor to William Christie with Les Arts Florissants and Emmanuelle Haïm with Le Concert d'Astrée, and in 2010, he founded the early music group Arcangelo. Cohen has also served as an artistic partner with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and as the artistic director of Britain's Tetbury Festival. In 2018, he was named the music director of Les Violons du Roy. Cohen and Arcangelo remained vigorously active as of the mid-2020s, issuing a recording of Handel's oratorio Theodora, HWV 60, in 2024.