Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Conducting legend, leading light in historical performance practice and Bach specialist: Sir John Eliot Gardiner is celebrating his 80th birthday and pays a visit to the Elbphilharmonie for three concerts.
In April 2023, Sir John Eliot Gardiner turns 80 – a moment to look back on a stage career spanning almost 60 years. Since founding the Monteverdi Choir in 1964 and the English Baroque Soloists in 1978, the Briton has remained at the very forefront of historical performance practice. Hamburg music enthusiasts will also remember his stint as principal conductor of the then NDR-Sinfonieorchester in the early 1990s.
Besides his two original sound ensembles, Gardiner regularly conducts world-class orchestras including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic – as well as the Concertgebouw Orchestra based in Amsterdam, with which he performs all four Brahms symphonies in two concerts at the Elbphilharmonie this season. Gardiner is also one of the most eminent Bach experts of our time – and President of the Bach Archive Foundation in Leipzig, among other posts. He is giving himself and the audience in Hamburg a special birthday treat, with a performance of Bach’s staggering »Mass in B minor«.