Jordi Savall conducts Lully, Telemann, and Handel

The pioneering Jordi Savall (b. 1941) has served as an essential and visionary figure not only in the early music movement but in the field of classical music as a whole. Through the discovery and recovery of period instruments, a broad exploration of unknown and forgotten repertoire, and the reshaping of the standard performance practice, he has long been — and continues to be — an inspiration for colleagues, audiences, and several generations of pupils.

This concert showcases a perfect example of the living legend’s generous transmission of the knowledge he has gleaned over a lifetime of music making, one of his primary aims as an artist and human. With Savall at the helm, the talented young musicians of the Karajan-Academy, winners of an elite scholarship from the Berliner Philharmoniker, bring us a lush selection of music by three Baroque masters: Lully’s Alceste Suite, which transports us to the court of the Sun King’s Versailles; Telemann’s Water Music: Hamburg Ebb and Flow, proof of a mind overflowing with imagination; and Handel’s iconic, spectacular Music for the Royal Fireworks.

Photo © Hervé Pouyfourcat