Carnegie Hall, New York
October 14 and 15, 2018

Founded in 1989 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner to be a 19th-century foil to his English Baroque Soloists, the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique is now one of the longest-in-the-tooth of the historically informed Romantic-era brigade. However, as proven by these two Carnegie Hall programs of music by Hector Berlioz (and let’s be honest, the orchestra might have been named for him), these old dogs have more than a few new tricks up their collective sleeves.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts Orchestra Révloutionnaire et Romantique. Photo © Stephanie Berger

At 75, Gardiner remains one of the most vigorous and inspirational figures on the podium, driving his interpretations with a fiery intelligence and passion that speaks eloquently of the period. He’s especially right for Berlioz, himself a conductor noted for flare and precision, who became one of the defining steps towards the making of the modern maestro. Over the last 30 years, the sound of the period orchestra has become more familiar – the lean sound of gut strings, buzzy woodwind, blunt-edged brass and the thwack of a...