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 repertory 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 La Scala, Milan, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Sydney Opera House.
In 2024 the English Baroque Soloists, together with the Monteverdi Choir, undertake a European tour of Handel’s biblical oratorio Israel in Egypt. In 2023 both ensembles performed Bach’s Mass in B minor and Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (among other works) in the United States under the direction of Dinis Sousa. In May 2023 the English Baroque Soloists performed at the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Together with Isabelle Faust and Antoine Tamestit, the EBS have performed concerts of works by Haydn and Mozart throughout Europe.
The English Baroque Soloists have appeared as guest artists at numerous leading concert halls and international festivals, including the Barbican Hall and the Alexandra Palace Theatre in London, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Chapelle Royal de Versailles, the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the BBC Proms, the Berlin Festival, the Salzburg Festival, the Salzburg Mozartwoche and the Cartagena Festival de Música in South America.
