CD-Charts Position 1
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Verdi: Requiem

by: John Eliot Gardiner

Release Date March 03, 1995
I had in my collection Richard Hickox's recording of this alongside Solti's rendition. I was then told that, apparently allegedly etc, that Sir John Eliot thought his recording of Verdi's Requiem was his finest recording to date, so I had to buy it.

It is true - the performance of the Requiem and the four Sacred pieces are masterful. The Dies Irae, that most famous moment, is typical Gardiner - punchy and driven with no let up - 'day of wrath and doom impending' indeed. However, in the more gentle moments, such as the opening and later in the Libera me, Gardiner weaves a beautiful serenity into the performance.

The test for me with this piece is the 'Domine, libera, Domine' at the very end with the almost-Spanishlike ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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Brahms Symphony 1 Gardiner

by: The Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, John Eliot Gardiner

Release Date September 01, 2008
I had in my collection Richard Hickox's recording of this alongside Solti's rendition. I was then told that, apparently allegedly etc, that Sir John Eliot thought his recording of Verdi's Requiem was his finest recording to date, so I had to buy it.

It is true - the performance of the Requiem and the four Sacred pieces are masterful. The Dies Irae, that most famous moment, is typical Gardiner - punchy and driven with no let up - 'day of wrath and doom impending' indeed. However, in the more gentle moments, such as the opening and later in the Libera me, Gardiner weaves a beautiful serenity into the performance.

The test for me with this piece is the 'Domine, libera, Domine' at the very end with the almost-Spanishlike ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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Beethoven: Symphony No 9 /Monteverdi Choir · ORR · Gardiner

by: Luba Orgonasova Anne Sofie Otter Anthony Rolfe Johnson Gilles Cachemaille The Monteverdi Choir Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique John Eliot Gardiner

Release Date October 30, 1995
JEG's magic touch has brought new sparkle and life, at least in my ears, to almost everything he touches (though his Bach Cantatas somehow leave me emotionally unfulfilled). In this wonderful recording he gives Betthoven's 9th freshness it so often lacks. Compare this with, say, any of Karajan's recordings, and you see what I mean. And it is not just the period instruments and the superior choral forces. Sparkle is the only word that describes it.

CD-Charts Position 4
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Requiem/French Choral Works

from: Philips

Release Date June 01, 1994
JEG's magic touch has brought new sparkle and life, at least in my ears, to almost everything he touches (though his Bach Cantatas somehow leave me emotionally unfulfilled). In this wonderful recording he gives Betthoven's 9th freshness it so often lacks. Compare this with, say, any of Karajan's recordings, and you see what I mean. And it is not just the period instruments and the superior choral forces. Sparkle is the only word that describes it.

CD-Charts Position 5
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Schumann: Complete Symphonies

by: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique John Eliot Gardiner

Release Date March 30, 1998
This set with an implied claim of it "solving" the problem of Schumann's alegedly muddy orchestration by using orchestral forces, instruments and playing techniques that are "historically correct" (i.e. as Schumann would have expected). Never mind about that - there are great performances in the catalogue that have not used or needed this solution. The Kubelik and the Sawallisch sets are both filled with wonderful accounts of this wonderful music. But Gardiner's set must join them for his are truly great performances, too, and perhaps the greatest accounts of all.

The other two sets are much cheaper and many may even prefer them (I have not decided yet) but I would not want to be without these new thrilling and musical accounts and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Schumann: Das Paradies und die Peri

from: Archiv

Release Date September 13, 1999
That was the comment on Paradise and the Peri by the Viennese journalist Hanslick, a witty writer but a dull and unperceptive critic. The loquacious Schumann invited it to some extent by assigning himself two musical personalities, Florestan and Eusebius, in his smaller compositions. This time he was venturing on to the big stage. He did not stay there long, but Paradise and the Peri may be his most successful creation for it. The libretto comes from a German translation-cum-adaptation of the Oriental semi-epic Lalla Rookh by Thomas Moore. In this set the German is reverse-engineered into English by Lionel Salter in those places where Moore's original does not fit. Dr Salter also supplies the translation from Goethe in the Requiem for Mignon; and in the ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Beethoven: 9 Symphonies /ORR · Gardiner

from: Archiv Produktion

Release Date September 06, 1994
Excellent reviews when it came out made me buy this set despite the high price. I found it interesting enough with little to dislike (except that awful charmless Pastoral) but not enough to love either. I would have enjoyed hearing these performances in concerts - they are, afterall, exciting and they do have an attractive leanness - but they don't really earn a place in a collection. Perhaps they seemed more revolutionary ten years ago, but there is not one performance here that is in any way special. However you like your Beethoven, there are better options ... and many of them are much cheaper, too.

CD-Charts Position 8
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Berlioz: Messe solennelle

by: Donna Brown Jean-Luc Viala Gilles Cachemaille The Monteverdi Choir Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique John Eliot Gardiner

Release Date March 12, 2001
Two hundred years ago last year, Louis-Hector Berlioz was born. This, then, is a time for me to comment on a few of my favorite performances of his works, some of them "favorites by acclamation" and others simply those in which I find special merit, enough so that they are frequently in my CD players.

Never mind that Hector Berlioz destroyed this student work. It is our good fortune that a copy of the manuscript survived these efforts, and moreover ended up in the hands of John Eliot Gardiner, who directs his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the Montiverdi Choir plus soloists in this premiere recording.

Seemingly because of its central importance in better understanding the Berlioz canon of works – as well as its splendid recorded sound ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Schumann: Symphonies Nos.1 & 4; Konzertstück for 4 Horns

by: Robert Schumann, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Roger Montgomery, Susan Dent, Gavin Edwards, Robert Maskell

Release Date October 20, 2003
Two hundred years ago last year, Louis-Hector Berlioz was born. This, then, is a time for me to comment on a few of my favorite performances of his works, some of them "favorites by acclamation" and others simply those in which I find special merit, enough so that they are frequently in my CD players.

Never mind that Hector Berlioz destroyed this student work. It is our good fortune that a copy of the manuscript survived these efforts, and moreover ended up in the hands of John Eliot Gardiner, who directs his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the Montiverdi Choir plus soloists in this premiere recording.

Seemingly because of its central importance in better understanding the Berlioz canon of works – as well as its splendid recorded sound ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

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Beethoven / Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos

by: Viktoria Mullova, Orch Revolutionnaire

Release Date June 09, 2003
Viktoria Mullova is one of the leading violinists in the world. Her relatively recent interest in playing on gut strings serves her well in these two concertos. The sound is always interesting, full of character and colour. The performances are absolutely assured, unshowy and unfailingly musical. The orchestral contribution is just as good, and this CD can be recommended with confidence.