John Eliot Gardiner: ‘My orchestras are in peril’

Jumping in for David Zinman at a French radio orchestra, the British conductor has bewailed the lack of UK financial support for his freelance ensembles, the English Baroque Soloists, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and Monteverdi Choir.

‘Mes orchestres sont en péril,’ he cried.

He claimed the recent £257 million Government handout was not intended for independent ensembles like his own, which seems strange since other independent baroque groups such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment received generous grants.

UPDATE: The German Requiem that JEG was meant to conduct was replaced at late notice by Brahms 3rd symphony after a member of the chorus tested positive for Covid-19