A late 15th-century icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh with the Saints of Rostov adorns the cover of a new album of Russian Orthodox Church music by the vocal ensemble Conspirare. Harmonia Mundi hide caption
John Eliot Gardiner John Eliot Gardiner artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
John Eliot Gardiner
This rare portrait of Bach, by Elias Gottlob Haussmann, hung in John Eliot Gardiner's home during World War II. courtesy of William H. Scheide, Princeton, N.J. hide caption
An autographed portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption
John Eliot Gardiner leads the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique and the Monteverdi Choir at Carnegie Hall in New York, NY on November 17, 2012. Melanie Burford for NPR hide caption
Gardiner Leads Beethoven's Missa Solemnis
Orpheus makes his way through the underworld, in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's production of one of the first operas, Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, from 1607. Deutsche Grammophon hide caption
Organist Cameron Carpenter: not your typical holiday celebrant. Michael Hart/courtesy of the artist hide caption
Conductor John Eliot Gardiner has strong opinions about Beethoven. Chris Christodoulou hide caption
Klemperer: Beethoven Symphony No. 7 - Allegro con brio
Many high-quality Bach recordings have been released this year. Above: Isabelle Faust with her violin. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Composer Jennifer Higdon wonders what Beethoven would think of cell phones and Thai food. J.D. Scott hide caption
Hear an excerpt of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 -- Molto Vivace (John Eliot Gardiner conducts Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique)
'Mondnacht' ('Moonlight,' from Liederkreis, Op. 39) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
Monteverdi's Poppea. Wikimedia Commons hide caption
A portrait of Handel. Wikimedia Commons hide caption
Simplicity, it turns out, is the secret to the success of Handel's ever-popular "Hallelujah Chorus." istockphoto hide caption