John Eliot Gardiner - the pros and cons...

[french frank]

The interview that Gardiner gave to Tom Service on the occasion of his 80th Birthday is still available:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001kvld

[...]
One final detail- at about 31' in, Gardiner is very complimentary to a young soloist who he had recently worked with. His name? Will Thomas.

It makes this latest news even more bafflingly sad.

[Bryn]

Posted by Ian Pace, on Facebook.

[kindofblue]

Posted by Ian Pace, on Facebook.

Fascinating, thanks for unearthing this. The prose in this article is incredible - 'sublime frenzy'?!

[Bryn]

Fascinating, thanks for unearthing this. The prose in this article is incredible - 'sublime frenzy'?!

Any thanks are due to Ian Pace. His Facebook post was offered to me in a standard notification. He often has interesting things to say about music, though I find myself at variance with some of his political opinions.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I don’t think I’ve seen mention of this (apologies if this is old news):

"……In a new statement, he apologised for the "distress" he had caused.
"I am taking a step back.. to get the specialist help I recognise that I have needed for some time," he said....."

".....This will include "an extensive, tailored course of treatment and he asks for space and privacy while the programme is ongoing," they continued........"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66673096

[smittims]

How fascinating. 'A superman cannot be dealt with after the manner of ordinary mortals'. But how does one decide who is a superman and therefore exempt? It conjures up memories of Ayn Rand and 'Rope'.

[french frank]

Comparing Bryn's and Cockney Sparrow's ('JEG seeking specialist help') posts, the sociological change in attitudes is fascinating. It isn't just the court's decision on Toscanini, but the NYT reporting of the 'psychological irresponsibility' argument that is striking. Surely, for diverse reasons psychological irresponsibility might affect others and cause them to act in a similar uncontrolled/uncontrollable way, not just musical genius. What makes some actions legally 'pardonable' but not others? Autres temps, autres mœurs …

[AuntDaisy]

The Grauniad "John Eliot Gardiner leaves Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras after assault allegation"

https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jul/24/john-eliot-gardiner-monteverdi-choir-and-orchestras

https://monteverdi.co.uk/news/JEG-statement-July2024

[Darkbloom]

I can only assume there were enough people there who didn't want him back and he had to go. I know they use other conductors but JEG was the main draw and it will be interesting to see how things go in the future. It will also be interesting to see which orchestras have him back as a guest. He might be very contrite now, but wait until a horn player cracks a note and lets see how long this new touchy- feely JEG lasts.

[richardfinegold]

I thought he was canned when the incident happened. That was some limbo for him and the organization to be in for a year and doesn't seem to have benefited any one.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I can only assume there were enough people there who didn't want him back and he had to go. I know they use other conductors but JEG was the main draw and it will be interesting to see how things go in the future. It will also be interesting to see which orchestras have him back as a guest. He might be very contrite now, but wait until a horn player cracks a note and lets see how long this new touchy- feely JEG lasts.

It’s nothing to do with popularity . In every organisation I’ve ever worked in hitting another person - be they staff , freelance or a member of the public without very good reason in the course of work was grounds for summary dismissal.

[Maclintick]

I thought he was canned when the incident happened. That was some limbo for him and the organization to be in for a year and doesn't seem to have benefited any one.

So did I, and was rather bemused when this appeared six months after the Will Thomas incident...

https://www.classical-music.uk/news/article/john-eliot-gardiner-to-return-to-podium-in-2024

[Old Grumpy]

Jessica Duchen in the i:

https://inews.co.uk/culture/arts/punches-flashing-verbal-abuse-classical-music-bullying-3216407

Edit: Seems this link has a paywall. Apologies

[oliver sudden]

A new generation of conductors is taking early music to fresh heights. Where the elder “maestri” were pioneers, researching, experimenting, learning on the job, sometimes triumphing and sometimes failing in their quest for so-called “authenticity” (which was then proven to be an unrealisable concept), conductors like Laurence Cummings, Rinaldo Alessandrini and Maxim Emelyanychev have been able to slot into the soundworld and infuse it with the deeper values of love, understanding, and warmth of personality that some of the 1980s zealots could occasionally miss.

Oh come on.

[LMcD]

Oh come on.

Public confession time - I'd never previously heard of the 3 young conductors named in the extract from the article in the i.