The Guardian Profiles René Jacobs

*Not so hippy now*
Since the 1960s, René Jacobs has been a pioneer of the early music movement. Stephen Everson hears how his vision has evolved
Friday October 22, 2004
The Guardian
Anyone who still thinks “authentic” performances of baroque and classical music must be inexpressive affairs, with four-square rhythms, grating strings and thin vibrato-less voices will have a shock if they listen to any of the many recordings that René Jacobs has directed over the past two decades, or go to the Barbican to hear him conduct Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea on Monday. Jacobs has tried consistently to combine historical sensitivity with a sense of theatre and expression. His recent recording of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro has just won classical music’s most prestigious award, the Gramophone magazine’s Record of the Year, and rightly so, as it succeeded in making something both fresh and profound from this most-recorded of operas.
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*Recommended recordings:*

*See also:*
NewOlde.com Reviews Antonio Vivaldi’s Operas
Poppée sans télécommande
FT Reviews L’Incoronazione di Poppeia