Always passionate, always historically informed
Artist in residence
Sir John Eliot Gardiner
If there's one thing he hates, it's being put into the period performance practice corner, even if the music world owes the founding of the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists and the spectacular rediscovery of Rameau’s opera Les Boréades in 1975 to the British conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Not to forget the «Bach Cantata Pilgrimage», for which Gardiner travelled for a full year to perform Bach’s cantatas in 90 concerts in 15 countries. Gardiner, however, has always seen himself as a musical allrounder, equally interested in sacred vocal works as operas and symphonies. His founding of the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique in 1990 was a decisive contribution to a fresh look at the music of Hector Berlioz and other 19th century composers on a new, historically informed basis. France has always been an important reference point for Gardiner, who was chief conductor of the Lyon Opera from 1983 to 1988. He musters equal enthusiasm for Gabriel Fauré’s ethereal Requiem as for Georges Bizet’s sultry Carmen score, which Gardiner conducted in 2009 at the place of its world premiere, the Salle Favart in Paris. One prominent composer of the era, however, has always been given a wide berth by Gardiner – Richard Wagner. On the contrary, his activism on behalf of Wagner’s antipode malgré lui, Johannes Brahms, has been all the more passionate. Gardiner has paid homage to Brahms not least with a 30-concert project resembling the «Pilgrimage». In Luxembourg, Gardiner will conduct all of Brahms’ symphonies on two evenings. He also honours the choral composer Brahms in two other performances, which combine the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg with the Monteverdi Choir and also reflect the connection between Brahms and Antonín Dvořák, who were friends. Nor will Bach be absent from this Luxembourg residency. Leipzig’s St. Thomas Cantor, to whom Gardiner has dedicated a widely-acclaimed book, once felt the urge to forge a new whole from individual pieces he had composed for various liturgical purposes. Even though it may never have been performed as a whole during Bach’s lifetime, it has taken its place in the pantheon of European classical music under the title Mass in B minor. And who could be more deeply versed in this incomparable music than the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists under the baton of their tireless, charismatic founder?
Cover photo: Gerd Mothes
Concerts
-
13.10.2022 20:00Sir John Eliot Gardiner / Monteverdi Choir / OPL
Has already taken placeUnfortunately, beyond Ein deutsches Requiem, Brahms‘ choral works are fairly unknown. Launching his residency at the Philharmonie, Sir John Eliot Gardiner now illuminates several shorter choral works by the composer together with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and his Monteverdi Choir. The diversity of these works, regarding both casts and texts, promises a profoundly intriguing evening, ending with the rousing Fifth Symphony by Brahms’ friend Antonín Dvořák. The concert on Oct. 14 is preceded by an introductory lecture in German by Mathias Hansen at 7:15 pm at the Salle de Musique de Chambre.
_________________________
Parking Place de l’Europe géré par Indigo:
Avant votre venue ce soir à la Philharmonie, nous tenons à vous communiquer quelques informations relatives à l’accès au Parking Place de l’Europe géré par Indigo.
En raison de travaux, nous avons travaillé en concertation avec Indigo afin de fluidifier la circulation vers les niveaux inférieurs. Du personnel sera présent à plusieurs endroits pour gérer la circulation et faciliter l’accès aux étages inférieurs.
Nous vous conseillons néanmoins de prévoir d’arriver un peu plus tôt à la Philharmonie ou de vous garer au Parking des Trois Glands offrant une capacité de stationnement de 523 places. Veuillez noter que ce parking n’a cependant pas d’ascenseur. -
14.10.2022 20:00Sir John Eliot Gardiner / Monteverdi Choir / OPL
Has already taken placeUnfortunately, beyond Ein deutsches Requiem, Brahms‘ choral works are fairly unknown. Launching his residency at the Philharmonie, Sir John Eliot Gardiner now illuminates several shorter choral works by the composer together with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and his Monteverdi Choir. The diversity of these works, regarding both casts and texts, promises a profoundly intriguing evening, ending with the rousing Fifth Symphony by Brahms’ friend Antonín Dvořák. The concert on Oct. 14 is preceded by an introductory lecture in German by Mathias Hansen at 7:15 pm at the Salle de Musique de Chambre.
_________________________
Parking Place de l’Europe géré par Indigo:
Avant votre venue ce soir à la Philharmonie, nous tenons à vous communiquer quelques informations relatives à l’accès au Parking Place de l’Europe géré par Indigo.
En raison de travaux, nous avons travaillé en concertation avec Indigo afin de fluidifier la circulation vers les niveaux inférieurs. Du personnel sera présent à plusieurs endroits pour gérer la circulation et faciliter l’accès aux étages inférieurs.
Nous vous conseillons néanmoins de prévoir d’arriver un peu plus tôt à la Philharmonie ou de vous garer au Parking des Trois Glands offrant une capacité de stationnement de 523 places. Veuillez noter que ce parking n’a cependant pas d’ascenseur. -
17.04.2023 20:00Sir John Eliot Gardiner / Monteverdi Choir / English Baroque Soloists – Messe h-moll
Has already taken placeAppearing to the listener as a unified work, Bach’s Mass in B-Minor was actually composed over the course of a quarter-century, and it is possible that its creator intended it merely as a kind of »portfolio« showcasing individual liturgical movements. 19th-century musical life, however, decided that all movements merited a joint performance in the concert hall. Sir John Eliot Gardiner – one of the world’s most competent Bach performers – continues this performance tradition in Luxembourg now, and of course the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists follow the latest insights of historically informed performance practice. The concert is preceded by an introductory lecture in German by the musicologist Hagen Kunze at 7:15 pm.
-
10.05.2023 20:00Sir John Eliot Gardiner / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – Brahms 1 & 3
Has already taken placeOn May 10 and 11, Sir John Eliot Gardiner – artist in residence at the Philharmonie this season – leads the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Johannes Brahms’ four symphonies. The composer long avoided this genre, not least because he revered Beethoven’s oeuvre, but then contributed an immensely important body of symphonies within less than ten years, another kind of «tetralogy». In an appropriate «prelude», Christian Merlin offers a lecture in French on May 10 at 7:15 pm at the Salle de Musique de Chambre, reviewing more than 100 years of history of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
-
11.05.2023 20:00
Sir John Eliot Gardiner / Concertgebouworkest – Brahms 2 & 4
Has already taken placeOn May 10 and 11, Sir John Eliot Gardiner – artist in residence at the Philharmonie this season – leads the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Johannes Brahms’ four symphonies. The composer long avoided this genre, not least because he revered Beethoven’s oeuvre, but then contributed an immensely important body of symphonies within less than ten years, another kind of «tetralogy». In an appropriate «prelude», Christian Merlin offers a lecture in French on May 10 at 7:15 pm at the Salle de Musique de Chambre, reviewing more than 100 years of history of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
