Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943)
is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
.
Life and career
Born in
Fontmell Magna
Fontmell Magna is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale, close to the chalk hills of Cranborne Chase, on the A350 road south of Shaftesbury and north of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 cens ...
, Dorset, son of
Rolf Gardiner
Henry Rolf Gardiner (5 November 1902 – 26 November 1971) was an English rural revivalist, helping to bring back folk dance styles including Morris dancing and sword dancing. He founded groups significant in the British history of organic far ...
and Marabel Hodgkin, Gardiner's early musical experience came largely through singing with his family and in a local church choir. As a child he grew up with the celebrated
Haussmann Hausmann is a German word with former meanings "householder" and "freeholder" and current meaning "house-husband."
Hausmann (Hausman), Haussmann (Haussman), Haußmann, Hauszmann, etc. are German-origin surnames that may refer to:
Hausmann
* C ...
portrait of J. S. Bach, which had been lent to his parents for safe keeping during the Second World War. A self-taught musician who also played the violin, he began to study
conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...
at the age of 15. He was educated at
Bryanston School
Bryanston School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the town of Blandford Forum, in Dorset in South West England. It was founded in 1928 ...
, then studied history at
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
, where his tutor was the social anthropologist
Edmund Leach
Sir Edmund Ronald Leach FRAI FBA (7 November 1910 – 6 January 1989) was a British social anthropologist and academic. He served as provost of King's College, Cambridge from 1966 to 1979. He was also president of the Royal Anthropologi ...
.
["John Eliot Gardiner", in ''Contemporary Musicians'' (1999), Detroit: Gale]
![Johann Sebastian Bach](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Johann_Sebastian_Bach.jpg)
While an undergraduate at Cambridge he launched his career as a conductor with a performance of
Vespro della Beata Vergine
''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' (''Vespers for the Blessed Virgin''), SV 206, is a musical setting by Claudio Monteverdi of the evening vespers on Marian feasts, scored for soloists, choirs, and orchestra. It is an ambitious work in scope and ...
by
Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...
, in
King's College Chapel
King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College, Cambridge, King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan ...
on 5 March 1964. This either featured or led to the foundation of the
Monteverdi Choir
The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convic ...
, with which he made his London conducting debut at the
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...
in 1966.
Whilst at Cambridge, he conducted the Oxford and Cambridge Singers on a concert tour of the Middle East.
After graduating in history, Gardiner continued his musical studies at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
under
Thurston Dart
Robert Thurston ("Bob") Dart (3 September 1921 – 6 March 1971), was an English musicologist, conductor and keyboard player. Along with Nigel Fortune, Oliver Neighbour and Stanley Sadie he was one of Britain's leading musicologists of the post ...
and in Paris with
Nadia Boulanger
Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist.
From a ...
, whose music had been a very early influence.
Returning to England, Gardiner joined the
BBC Northern Orchestra
The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at MediaC ...
as an apprentice conductor.
In 1968 he founded the Monteverdi Orchestra. Upon changing from modern instruments to
period instrument
In the historically informed performance movement, musicians perform classical music using restored or replicated versions of the instruments for which it was originally written. Often performances by such musicians are said to be "on authentic ...
s in 1977, the orchestra changed its name to the
English Baroque Soloists
The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque to the Classical period.
History
The English B ...
in 1978. In 1969 Gardiner made his opera debut with a performance of
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
's ''
The Magic Flute
''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...
'' at the
English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
. Four years later, in 1973, he made his first appearance at the
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
conducting
Gluck
Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...
's ''
Iphigénie en Tauride''. The English Baroque Soloists made their opera debut with him in the 1977 Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, performing
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's ''
Acis and Galatea'' on period instruments. His American debut came in 1979 when he conducted the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas.
History
The orchestra traces its origins to a ...
. He then became the lead conductor of Canada's
CBC Vancouver Orchestra
The CBC Radio Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Until the early 1980s CBC had a number of orchestras located in Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Hal ...
from 1980 to 1983.
[
]
After his period with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Gardiner went to France. From 1983 to 1988 he was Music Director of the
Opéra National de Lyon
The Opéra National de Lyon, marketed as Opéra de Lyon during the last decade, is an opera company in Lyon, based and performing mostly at the Opéra Nouvel, an 1831 theater that was modernized and architecturally transformed in 1993.
The inaugu ...
. During his period with the Opéra he founded an entirely new orchestra. During his time with the Opéra National de Lyon Gardiner was also Artistic Director of the
Göttingen Handel Festival
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
(1981 until 1990). In 1989 the Monteverdi Choir had its 25th anniversary, touring the world giving performances of Handel's oratorio ''
Israel in Egypt
''Israel in Egypt'', HWV 54, is a biblical oratorio by the composer George Frideric Handel. Most scholars believe the libretto was prepared by Charles Jennens, who also compiled the biblical texts for Handel's '' Messiah''. It is composed ...
'' and
Bach's ''Magnificat'' among other works. In 1990, Gardiner formed a new period-instrument orchestra, the
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
The Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, founded in 1989 by John Eliot Gardiner, performs Classical and Romantic music using the principles and original instruments of historically informed performance. The orchestra has recorded symphonies, ...
, to perform music of the 19th century. From 1991 until 1995 he was principal conductor of the
North German Radio Symphony Orchestra
The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra (german: NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester) is a German radio orchestra. Affiliated with the '' Norddeutscher Rundfunk'' (NDR; North German Broadcasting), the orchestra is based at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg ...
.
From the 1990s onwards he undertook more world tours with his ensembles, including:
* A European tour in 1993 with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique featured
Berlioz's rediscovered ''
Messe solennelle''. Beginning in
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, Germany the tour ended with a recorded performance in
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster.
The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...
, London 1993.
* In 2000, Gardiner set out on his Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, performing, over a 52-week period, all of
Bach's sacred cantatas in churches around Europe and the United States.
* In late 2004, Gardiner toured France and Spain with the Monteverdi Choir performing pieces from the ''
Codex Calixtinus
The (also ''Compostellus'') is the main witness for the 12th-century , or the Book of Saint James. It is a pseudepigraph attributed to Pope Callixtus II; its principal author or compilator is referred to as "Pseudo-Callixtus", often identified wi ...
'' in cathedrals and churches along the
Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...
.
![John Eliot Gardiner at rehearsal in Wroclaw, PL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/John_Eliot_Gardiner_at_rehearsal_in_Wroclaw%2C_PL.jpg)
He founded the
Monteverdi Choir
The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convic ...
(1964), the
English Baroque Soloists
The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque to the Classical period.
History
The English B ...
(1978) and the
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
The Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, founded in 1989 by John Eliot Gardiner, performs Classical and Romantic music using the principles and original instruments of historically informed performance. The orchestra has recorded symphonies, ...
(1989). Gardiner has recorded over 250 albums with these and other musical ensembles, most of which have been published by
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
and
Philips Classics
Philips Classics Records was started in the 1980s as the new classics record label for Philips Records. It was successful with artists including Alfred Brendel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fie ...
,
[
] and by the
Soli Deo Gloria label, which specialises in recordings by Gardiner and by his ensembles.
Gardiner is most famous for his interpretations of
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
music on
period instruments
In the historically informed performance movement, musicians perform classical music using restored or replicated versions of the instruments for which it was originally written. Often performances by such musicians are said to be "on authentic ...
with the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists, but his repertoire and discography are not limited to
early music
Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...
. With the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique Gardiner has performed a wide range of
Classical and
Romantic music, including many works of
Berlioz and all of
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
's symphonies. A recording of the
third symphony of the latter was used in a dramatisation by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
of Beethoven's writing of that symphony.
. Gardiner is also well known for his refusal to perform the music of
Gardiner said, 'I really loathe Wagner – everything he stands for – and I don’t even like his music very much.'
In late 2012, citing health concerns, he cancelled his planned December 2013 tour of Australia with the Monteverdi Choir and the
. In 2013, Gardiner published the book ''Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven''. In 2014 he started a five-year term as President of the Leipzig
in that position in 2019. One of the realizations during Gardiner's presidency was the Archive's collaboration to the ''
'' box set with the complete recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach's works, released in 2018.
Gardiner has received a variety of honours and awards, including:
* Honorary doctorate from the
(1879–1963). His mother, Marabel Hodgkin, was a member of the
from 1981 to 1997; they have three daughters. From 2001 to 2019 he was married to Isabella de Sabata, granddaughter of conductor
. His continued involvement in this project has earned him the nickname 'Uphill Gardiner' as a consequence of his unorthodox farming methods.
In August 2014, Gardiner was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''
.
Gardiner has been the subject of various allegations of rudeness and bullying of performers and colleagues. Berating musicians in his orchestras and demanding the highest of standards, he is called a mini-dictator by many.
, Gardiner's label, the name of which is taken from Bach's signature.