John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner HonFBA | |
---|---|
Born | , England | 20 April 1943
Occupation | Conductor of classical music |
Years active | 1964–Present |
Spouses | Elizabeth Wilcock
(m. 1981–1997)Isabella de Sabata
(m. 2001–2019) |
Children | Three |
Parent |
|
Relatives | Alan Gardiner (grandfather) Margaret Gardiner (aunt) Martin Bernal (cousin) Howard Hodgkin (cousin) |
Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Life and career
Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner 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 portrait of J. S. Bach, which had been lent to his parents for safe keeping during the Second World War.[2] A self-taught musician who also played the violin, he began to study conducting at the age of 15. He was educated at Bryanston School, then studied history at King's College, Cambridge, where his tutor was the social anthropologist Edmund Leach.[3][4]
While an undergraduate at Cambridge he launched his conducting career with a performance of
Returning to England, Gardiner joined the
After his period with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Gardiner went to France. From 1983 to 1988 he was Music Director of the
He founded the Monteverdi Choir (1964), the English Baroque Soloists (1978) and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (1989). 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, Germany the tour ended with a recorded performance in Westminster Cathedral, 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.[12]
- In late 2004, Gardiner toured France and Spain with the Monteverdi Choir performing pieces from the Codex Calixtinus in cathedrals and churches along the Camino de Santiago.[13]
Gardiner has recorded over 250 albums, most of which have been published by
Gardiner is most famous for his interpretations of
In late 2012, citing health concerns, he cancelled his planned December 2013 tour of Australia with the Monteverdi Choir and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.[20] In 2013, Gardiner published the book Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven.[21] In 2014 he started a five-year term as President of the Leipzig Bach Archive, being succeeded by Ton Koopman in that position in 2019.[22][23] One of the realizations during Gardiner's presidency was the Archive's collaboration to the Bach 333 box set with the complete recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach's works, released in 2018.[24]
Gardiner conducted his Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in a pre-service concert at Westminster Abbey for the Coronation of King Charles III.
In August 2023, Gardiner was reported to have struck the English bass singer William Thomas in front of cast members after Thomas exited the wrong side of the stage during a performance of Les Troyens at the Berlioz Festival in La Côte Saint André, which resulted in a public backlash against the conductor.[25][26] On 24 August 2023, Gardiner withdrew from all further engagements for 2023.[27][28][29][30] The withdrawal was said to be for 'a period of reflection and, in consultation with his medical advisors ... focussing on his mental health while engaging in a course of counselling'.[31]
Honours and awards
Gardiner has received a variety of honours and awards,[32] including:
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Lyon, 1987[14]
- Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), 1990 New Year Honours, for services to music[33]
- Honorary Fellow of King's College, London and King's College, Cambridge
- Honorary Member of Royal Academy of Music, 1992[14]
- Grammy, Best Choral Performance, 1994[34]
- Appointed Knight Bachelor, 1998 Birthday Honours, for services to music[35][36]
- Grammy, Best Opera Recording, 1999[34]
- Bach Medal, 2005[37]
- Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2005[38]
- Doctorate Honoris Causa in Musicology at the University of Pavia in Cremona (birthplace of Claudio Monteverdi), 2006[14][39]
- Bach Prize of the Royal Academy of Music-Kohn Foundation, 2008[14]
- Voted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in 2012[40]
- Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, 2011.
- Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from the University of St Andrews, 2014[41]
- National Book Critics Circle Award (Biography) shortlist for Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven, 2014[42]
- Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Cambridge, 2015
- Honorary Fellow of the British Academy, 2015[43]
- Honorary doctorate from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, 2023[44]
Personal life
Gardiner is the son of the British rural revivalist
Gardiner was married to violinist Elizabeth Wilcock from 1981 to 1997; they have three daughters. From 2001 to 2019 he was married to Isabella de Sabata,[46] granddaughter of conductor Victor de Sabata.[47]
In his spare time, Gardiner runs a farm at Springhead near
In August 2014, Gardiner was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that subject.[49]
Selected publications
See also
- Soli Deo Gloria record label
References
- ^ "Birthdays today". The Telegraph. 20 April 2012. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor, 69
- ^ Service, Tom; Tilden, Imogen (29 April 2015). "Bach Portrait Returns to Leipzig". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c "John Eliot Gardiner", in Contemporary Musicians (1999), Detroit: Gale
- ISBN 978-0-375-41529-6.
- ISBN 0-521-45377-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-375-41529-6.
- ^ "The Monteverdi Choir at 50". Monteverdi Choir. Archived from the original (Flash) on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ^ "English Baroque Soloists". Sinfini Music. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ^ CBC Radio Orchestra, archived from the original on 21 August 2007, retrieved 17 May 2007
- ^ The Opera House Orchestra, archived from the original on 3 December 2006, retrieved 17 May 2007
- ^ Göttingen Händelfestspiele (2007), A Brief History of the Göttingen Händelfestspiele (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2007, retrieved 17 May 2007
- ^ Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, archived from the original on 26 April 2007, retrieved 17 May 2007
- ^ Santiago Pilgrimage 2004 Website, archived from the original on 15 May 2007, retrieved 17 May 2007
- ^ a b c d e Monteverdi Productions website, archived from the original on 8 June 2007, retrieved 17 May 2007
- ^ "Ian Hart is Beethoven in unique drama of the first performance of the Eroica Symphony" (Press release). BBC. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 17 May 2007.
- ^ Peter Quantrill (October 2008). "Sir John Eliot Gardiner – Interview". gramophone.co.uk.
- ^ "Lunch with the FT: John Eliot Gardiner". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- The Spectator Australia. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "John Eliot Gardiner pulls out of ACO Christmas concerts". Limelightmagazine.com.au. 19 October 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4000-3143-6
- ^ Smith, Charlotte (2013). "Sir John Eliot Gardiner named president". Gramophone. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "A New President for The Leipzig Bach Archive | Bach-Archiv Leipzig". Bach-leipzig.de. Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- ^ Bach 333 website (26 October 2018)
- )
- Independent.co.uk. 31 August 2023.
- ^ "Festival Berlioz : Sir John Eliot Gardiner quitte La Côte-Saint-André après une altercation avec un chanteur | Radio Classique". Radioclassique.fr. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ Hernández, Javier C. (23 August 2023). "Famed Conductor Accused of Striking Singer at Performance | Radio Classique". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ "Sir John Eliot Gardiner: Famed conductor pulls out of the Proms after alleged assault". BBC News. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ Gecsoyler, Sammy (31 August 2023). "Conductor who allegedly slapped singer pulls out of all 2023 performances". The Guardian.
- ^ "Sir John Eliot Gardiner cancels the rest of 2023". Slippedisc.com. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "John Eliot Gardiner (Bio)", Bach-cantatas.com, retrieved 17 May 2007
- ^ "No. 51981". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1989. p. 7.
- ^ a b Grammy Award Winners, archived from the original on 30 September 2007, retrieved 17 May 2007
- ^ United Kingdom list: "No. 55155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1998. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 55610". The London Gazette. 14 September 1999. pp. 9843–9844.
- neue musikzeitung(Press release) (in German). Regensburg: ConBrio Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. ddp. 22 April 2005. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
- ^ Sir John Eliot Gardiner erhält Bundesverdienstkreuz (in German), archived from the original on 4 March 2016, retrieved 5 December 2005
- ^ "2006 – Università degli studi di Pavia". diazilla.com (in Italian). Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ "Sir John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)". Gramophone. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ "Laureation address – Sir John Eliot Gardiner". Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
- ^ "Announcing the National Book Critics Awards Finalists for Publishing Year 2013". National Book Critics Circle. 14 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ "British Academy Fellowship reaches 1,000 as 42 new UK Fellows are welcomed". Britac.ac.uk. 16 July 2015.
- ^ "Sir John Eliot Gardiner Awarded Honorary Doctorate by Liszt Academy". Concert.lisztacademy.hu. 16 January 2023.
- ^ Battle, Laura (30 March 2017). "Conductor John Eliot Gardiner on his love of music and farming". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
- ^ "A maestro marriage is over". Slipped Disc. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ John Eliot Gardiner – gewend zijn eigen beslissingen te nemen (Dutch), archived from the original on 1 October 2006, retrieved 17 May 2007
- ^ "a rural centre for creative and sustainable living in Fontmell Magna Dorset". Springhead Trust. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics". theguardian.com. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.