John Eliot Gardiner at 80
As Sir John Eliot Gardiner celebrates his 80th birthday, Tom Service joins the conductor at his home in Dorset.
Tom Service talks to conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner at his home in Dorset as he celebrates his 80th birthday later this week. His work as Artistic Director of his Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique has made him a central figure in the early music revival and a pioneer of historically informed performance. Together with the musicians from his performance groups, John Eliot Gardiner has performed and recorded repertoire which spans five centuries, from Monteverdi to Berlioz, Schutz to Schumann as well as the two composers he’s especially associated with – J.S. Bach and Beethoven.
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