Berlioz Series 2018 reviews

BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London

“Berlioz done brilliantly… both conductor and orchestra were on top form with a thrillingly dynamic programme of the French composer’s work” - Financial Times ★★★★★ Richard Fairman

“What the French viola player Antoine Tamestit and John Eliot Gardiner’s Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique contrived to do in Berlioz’s Byronic symphony Harold in Italy was sensational.” – The Times ★★★★★ Richard Morrison

Carnegie Hall, New York

“The orchestra played with tremendous energy and a sense of freedom that came out of an expressive joy in every note.” – New York Classical Review, George Grella.

“Gardiner and the ORR captured it all, from the gloomy opening to the heady swing of the big tune and the debauched antics of the finale.” – Limelight, Clive Paget

“John Eliot Gardiner led the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique in two thrilling Berlioz programs that showed off the breadth of his imagination.” – New York Times, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

“Gardiner executed the opening gesture with impressive verve and shaped the piece with great care, the ORR unleashing gorgeous waves of music.” – Classical Source, Susan Stempleski

“Though only mid-October it’s hard to imagine the rest of this new season will offer another pair of such stimulating, satisfying concerts.” – Parterre, Christopher Corwin

Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

“…a very inspired concertation, placed at the service of an unleashed interpretative fantasy, perfectly realized by the superb musicians of the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, explain the enthusiasm of the audience who applauded at the end of each piece, paying a true triumph at the end of the concert.” – Opera Click, Edoardo Saccenti