John Eliot Gardiner leads US tour (Nov) and releases new CD
This November, Sir John Eliot Gardiner – the recipient of more Gramophone Awards than any other living artist – returns to the States to lead his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR) and Monteverdi Choir in two all-Beethoven programs showcasing the titanic Missa solemnis and Ninth Symphony. As the culmination of a three-month, nine-country tour, the team heads to Chapel Hill, NC (Nov 14), Costa Mesa, CA (Nov 19 & 20), and New York’s Carnegie Hall (Nov 16 & 17) for concerts that, the New York Times counsels, are “not to be missed.” This tour follows the October 30 US 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. WQXR will also be broadcasting this year’s November 17 Carnegie Hall performance of the Missa solemnis live on the air and on its website, WQXR.org.
A key figure in the early-music revival of the past four decades, Gardiner is the founder and artistic director of both the Monteverdi Choir, named “best choir in the world” (Gramophone), and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, renowned for balancing clarity, pace, and lightness of touch with the distinctive warmth of its sound; the New York Times describes its members as “light-years advanced over their forebears in the period-instrument revival.” When the eminent conductor led the ORR in Beethoven’s symphonies last season, The Times of London reported: “We heard Beethoven raw in tooth and claw. … It was revolutionary; it was romantic; it was wonderful,” and the Washington Post confirmed: “In a galvanic, no-holds-barred performance, … Gardiner and the orchestra reminded us how peerless they can be in Beethoven.”
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 Daniela Lehner, tenor Michael Spyres, and bass Matthew Rose.
Their first port of call is Chapel Hill, NC, which the conductor describes as “a most delightful entry point into the USA.” Before drawing their three-month tour to a close in Costa Mesa, CA, they return to Carnegie Hall. Gardiner explains the unique response the venue inspires: “Carnegie’s got an atmosphere that you don’t find in any other concert hall in the world. It’s got legendarily good acoustics, but it’s also got this sense of tradition. You feel like all the great artists you’ve ever admired have performed there and done some of their best work. … It’s thrilling to be coming back again.”
It was at the storied New York venue that Gardiner led the ORR in Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies last fall, his readings highlighting the works’ revolutionary origins. The New York Times reported:
“The demonic energy and heroic mien we associate with the Beethoven of legend was present and possessive.
Fundamental to a gripping account of the Symphony No. 7 was Mr. Gardiner’s taut rhythmic conception, brilliantly negotiated by players light-years advanced over their forebears in the period-instrument revival in terms of security and style. The Allegretto was sinuous and haunting, the finale joyously visceral. And from fate’s knock at the onset of the Fifth Symphony – as close to a universally known gesture as anything in music history – Mr. Gardiner wrought Beethoven fresh and strange, with gutsy, brash and rasping instrumental voices united in triumph.”
This performance was captured for live broadcast by WQXR, New York’s sole dedicated classical music station, and a CD of the performance is due for US release on Gardiner’s own Soli Deo Gloria label on October 30. Presented in a digipack, the album comes with a 36-page booklet featuring original notes by BBC presenter and music journalist Stephen Johnson.
The present season also sees the conductor’s 70th birthday, which he looks forward to celebrating in grand style with a 12-hour Bach marathon on April 1, 2013 at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Details of the upcoming 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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