John Eliot Gardiner conducts Beethoven on US tour (Nov 14-20)
On November 14, Sir John Eliot Gardiner returns to the United States to lead his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR) and Monteverdi Choir in two all-Beethoven programs showcasing the titanic Missa solemnis and the Ninth Symphony. As the culmination of a lavishly praised three-month, nine-nation tour, the team heads to Chapel Hill, NC (Nov 14); New York’s Carnegie Hall (Nov 16 & 17); and Costa Mesa, CA (Nov 19 & 20) for concerts that, the New York Times counsels, are “not to be missed.” New York’s WQXR will be broadcasting November 17’s Carnegie Hall performance of the Missa solemnis live on the air and on its website, WQXR.org.
The US tour follows the release, on the conductor’s Soli Deo Gloria label, of his most recent recording with the ORR: Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies, captured live by WQXR at last year’s rapturously received Carnegie concerts. The critical response has been unanimous. In its five-star review, the Independent observed: “The use of period instruments makes for an energetic celebration of the heterogeneity of the instrumental voices, rather than the smoothed-out treatments favored today.” The Times of London agreed:
“Interviews with several of the ORR principals reproduced in the booklet shed some light on exactly why these performances sound so exciting: horn player Anneke Scott points out that the challenge of playing period instruments ‘pushes the musicians to their limits. … This level of energy produces performances unlike anything else.’ She’s right.”
As a result, the UK’s Observer explains:
“The electricity in the air is almost tangible. Gardiner is merciless in his demands, pitching his troops into a demented assault against the wilder shores of the seventh and plunging them headlong into the fifth, ratcheting up the tension with maniacal precision. The tempo is often exhilarating, the playing always vital, edgy and thrillingly fluent. This is the most exciting Beethoven release you are likely to hear this year.”
The Missa solemnis represents something of a signature work for the conductor and his team, whose Archiv/DG recording of the Mass won the 1991 Gramophone “Record of the Year” award, being considered “best of all” available versions and “an outstanding recording in every respect” (Gramophone). As Gardiner observes, “The Ninth Symphony and the Missa solemnis are the two great Mount Everests of not just Beethoven’s, but really the entirety of musical literature.” After an extensive tour of Europe – with stops in London, Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Cologne, Baden-Baden, Amsterdam, Pisa, Luxembourg, and Bern – Gardiner and his forces head to the US with soloists soprano Elizabeth Meister, mezzo Jennifer Johnston, tenor Michael Spyres, and bass Matthew Rose.
Details of the upcoming US tour follow below, and further information about Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the Monteverdi Choir, and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique is available on the web sites listed below.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner:
US tour with Monteverdi Choir and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Nov 14
Chapel Hill, NC
Memorial Hall, Carolina Performing Arts
BEETHOVEN: Missa solemnis
Nov 16
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall
BEETHOVEN: Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 in D minor
Nov 17
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall
BEETHOVEN: Missa solemnis
Nov 19
Costa Mesa, CA
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
BEETHOVEN: Missa solemnis
Nov 20
Costa Mesa, CA
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
BEETHOVEN: Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 in D minor
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