On 13 April 2023, one week before his 80th birthday, Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducted his Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists in a magnificent performance of Bach’s Mass in B Minor, his favourite work, in the Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall. As he stood there before his ensembles without a baton, score or podium, Gardiner was like a solid rock surrounded by breaking waves. Unshakeable and upright, but also similar to what drives those waves: full of power and life, guiding the constant musical to-ing and fro-ing with intensely eloquent hands.
A few hours before the concert, Sir John took some time out for a very animated »Elbphilharmonie Talk«. In the interview he talks about his lifelong personal engagement with the Mass in B Minor. Then, Gardiner, who knows all the tricks when it comes to Bach, outlines in fascinating detail how the structure of this work, which is made up of so many individual parts, reveals Bach’s genius, pragmatism and rebellious spirit.
Because Sir John has been given the honour of contributing some of the music for King Charles III’s coronation on 6 May 2023, we also discuss his relationship with the new monarch, with whom he shares a great love of music, deep concern about the earth and a passionate interest in sustainable agriculture. After all, Gardiner is not only a gifted musician, but also the son of a farmer and a successful organic farmer in his own right.
Gardiner celebrates his 80th birthday on 20 April 2023. He looks as if he’s only 60, and he sounds as if he’s 40 – dynamic and full of drive and enthusiasm. When he’s not busy conducting, he can be found on the farm with his sheep, pigs and cows. Not content to conduct his agricultural operations from the office, he is happy assuming a hands-on role in the birth of the calves and the lambs, knee-deep in the dung. The tractor is the only place that is out of bounds: »Too computerised, and I was really bad at that.«
