Jordi Savall

Program

About the Artist

Jordi Savall is an exceptional figure in today’s music world and one of the most versatile musicians of his generation. For more than forty years he has been devoted to the rediscovery of abandoned musical treasures: forty years of research, of exploration, of performance and the direction of his three ensembles—Hespèrion XXI (1974), La Capella Reial de Catalunya (1987) and Le Concert des Nations (1989), all founded together with Montserrat Figueras.

One of the most important protectors of early music, Savall has discovered a universe full of emotion and beauty, and in turn presented it to millions of music lovers worldwide. Furthermore, with a busy schedule of over 140 concerts and 6 recordings a year, a contribution to the soundtrack of Alain Corneau’s Tous les Matins du Monde, and his activity as visiting professor at the Juilliard School in New York, Savall demonstrates that early music does not have to be elitist and remains relevant to younger audiences.

Jordi Savall began his musical studies when he was six years old as a singer in the Children’s Choir of Igualada (Catalonia), his hometown. He went on to learn the cello, completing his studies at the Barcelona Conservatory in 1964. The following year, he began learning the viola da gamba and performing early music with Ars Musicae before moving onto advanced studies in 1968 at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Switzerland), where he taught between 1973 and 1993.

In 2008, Jordi Savall was appointed “Artist for Peace” into the good will Ambassador’s program of the UNESCO. The following year, he was appointed “Ambassador of the European Year of creativity and innovation” by the European Union and received the “National Prize of Music 2009” from the National Council of Culture and Arts of the Catalan Government. In addition, Savall was recently appointed “Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres” and “Chevalier de l’Ordre national de la Légion d’Honneur” by the French Department of Culture and in 2012, he received the Léonie Sonning Music prize. In December 2013, Jordi Savall was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa by Basel University. In 2010, Savall received the Midem Classical Award for the book CD Jérusalem, La Ville des deux Paix: La Paix céleste et la Paix terrestre. He presented this program across Asia and the Pacific in April 2014, with performances at Sydney’s Opera House and Melbourne’s Recital Centre, for which he received the 2014 Helpmann Award for Best Chamber and/or Instrumental Ensemble Concert, as well as at Singapore’s Esplanade.

Watch & Listen

Performance of “Les Folies d’Espagne”