Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Name	Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Origin	London, United Kingdom
Genre	Classical music, Baroque, Romantic
Years active	1989–present
Label	EMI Classics, Warner Classics, Erato, Philips
Associated acts	Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique is a period-instrument ensemble founded in 1989 to explore Classical period and Romantic music performance on historical instruments, led by conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. The ensemble has become associated with historically informed performances of works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Gioachino Rossini, Hector Berlioz, Johannes Brahms, and Franz Schubert, and has collaborated with ensembles such as the Monteverdi Choir and institutions like the Royal Opera House. Its recordings and concerts have engaged with festivals including the BBC Proms, the Hay Festival, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

History

The ensemble was formed in London in 1989 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner alongside musicians from ensembles such as the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir to perform late 18th century and 19th century repertoire using period techniques, drawing on precedents set by conductors like Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christopher Hogwood, Trevor Pinnock, and Roger Norrington. Early projects included staged and concert performances of works connected to revolutionary and Napoleonic Europe, referencing composers and events such as Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies, Gioachino Rossini's operas, the French Revolution, and the Congress of Vienna. Over the 1990s and 2000s the group expanded through associations with recording labels EMI Classics and Warner Classics and collaborations with festivals such as the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and the Salzburg Festival. The ensemble has performed in venues including Royal Festival Hall, La Scala, Opéra Garnier, Carnegie Hall, and Wigmore Hall.

Artistic Vision and Repertoire

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique's artistic vision centers on historically informed interpretations of repertoire spanning Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Hector Berlioz, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, and Johannes Brahms, engaging with source materials from archives like the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the British Library. The ensemble investigates performance practice issues discussed by scholars such as Roger Parker, Nicholas Cook, John Butt, and Christopher Hogwood, and applies period techniques championed by Arnold Dolmetsch, Alfred Einstein, and Eduard Hanslick in collaboration with modern institutions such as Royal Academy of Music, Juilliard School, and Conservatoire de Paris. Repertoire decisions have included orchestrations and editions by editors like Robert Levin, Jonathan Del Mar, Karen R. J. Sanders, and François-Joseph Fétis and programming connects to historical events like the Napoleonic Wars and the Revolutions of 1848.

Key Performances and Recordings

Significant performances include period-instrument cycles of Beethoven's symphonies at the BBC Proms and staged productions of Berlioz's works at the Aix-en-Provence Festival with directors linked to Peter Brook, Graham Vick, and Richard Jones. Landmark recordings comprise Beethoven symphony cycles on EMI Classics and Archiv Produktion, Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique with soloists drawn from Royal Opera House alumni, and collaborations on Rossini overtures released by Philips Classics and Erato Records. The ensemble's recordings have attracted attention from critics at Gramophone (magazine), The New York Times, The Guardian, and awards committees such as the Grammy Awards, the Diapason d'Or, and the ECHO Klassik.

Members and Leadership

Musicians have been drawn from leading period-performance practitioners affiliated with ensembles and institutions like the English Concert, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, Les Arts Florissants, La Petite Bande, Collegium Vocale Gent, and conservatoires including the Royal College of Music and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Leadership has centered on conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner with guest conductors and soloists such as Philippe Herreweghe, Marc Minkowski, Emmanuel Krivine, Sir Mark Elder, Vasily Petrenko, Anne-Sophie von Otter, Joyce DiDonato, Dame Janet Baker, and Sir Simon Rattle.

Instruments and Performance Practice

The orchestra employs historical instruments and replicas modeled after makers such as Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Antonio Stradivari, Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Jacobus Stainer, and Nicolas Lupot, alongside wind instruments by makers in the French and German traditions including Michele Todini and Jacques-Martin Hotteterre. Tuning systems and pitch standards reference historical source materials and debates involving temperaments like Werckmeister temperament, Vallotti temperament, and pitch levels such as "A=430" or "A=415", engaging scholarship from figures like Gustav Mahler's era commentators and editors including Franz Stockhausen. Performance practice draws on treatises by Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Ignaz Moscheles, Louis Spohr, and contemporary research published in journals such as Early Music and The Musical Quarterly.

Reception and Influence

Critical reception has been mixed to laudatory in outlets including The Times (London), Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, El País, and The Wall Street Journal, with praise for authenticity and dramatic nuance and debate among scholars and critics alongside figures such as Charles Rosen and Harold C. Schonberg about historical reconstruction. The ensemble influenced later period-instrument initiatives at institutions like the Vienna Philharmonic's historically informed projects, inspired recordings by Deutsche Grammophon artists and younger conductors including Daniel Harding, Robin Ticciati, and Fabio Luisi, and contributed to festival programming trends at Edinburgh International Festival and Verbier Festival.

Selected Tours and Collaborations

Tours and collaborations have included residencies at Royal Festival Hall, partnerships with opera houses such as Opéra National de Paris and La Scala, festival appearances at Salzburg Festival, Aix-en-Provence Festival, and the BBC Proms, and joint projects with ensembles like Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and soloists from institutions such as Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Covent Garden. Cross-disciplinary collaborations have engaged directors, choreographers, and institutions including Peter Sellars, Maguy Marin, Théâtre du Châtelet, and academic partnerships with University of Oxford and University of Cambridge music departments.

Category:Early music orchestras Category:Period instrument ensembles