English Baroque Soloists

The chamber orchestra English Baroque Soloists, founded in 1978 by John Eliot Gardiner, ranks among the most renowned ensembles of the historically informed performance practice movement.

With an extensive repertoire that ranges from Monteverdi to Mozart and Haydn, the English Baroque Soloists (EBS) are equally at home in chamber, symphonic and operatic performances, and the distinctive sound of their warm and incisive playing is instantly recognizable. The EBS have performed at many of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Teatro alla Scala, Milan, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Sydney Opera House.

2017 saw the English Baroque Soloists take part in the celebrated Monteverdi 450 Trilogy tour, in which they performed all three of Monteverdi’s surviving operas across Europe and in the USA, a project that was recognized by a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in the Opera and Music Theatre category.

In 2018, the EBS performed in Salzburg’s annual Mozartwoche, before embarking on a reprise of their landmark Bach Cantata Pilgrimage with the Monteverdi Choir in some of Europe’s most famous concert halls and churches, culminating in a residency at London’s Barbican Hall.

In 2019, the EBS made their inaugural visit to South America for the Cartagena Festival Internacional de Música, and with the Monteverdi Choir undertook a tour of Handel’s dramatic oratorio Semele – visiting a series of iconic venues that included the Philharmonie de Paris, Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana, the Alexandra Palace Theatre in London, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and the Sala Santa Cecilia in Rome. Later in the year, the EBS made their debut in Russia and then returned to South America alongside the Monteverdi Choir with a programme of sacred music featuring works by Carissimi, Monteverdi, Purcell and Scarlatti.

In 2021 the ensemble gave a first live-streamed concert alongside the Monteverdi Choir: Bach’s St John Passion, performed in the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford. This concert was streamed via Deutsche Grammophon’s online platform ‘DG Stage’. EBS also gave critically acclaimed performances of works by Handel and Bach at two of Europe’s most prestigious festivals: the BBC Proms and the Berliner Festspiele.