The Full Works Concert - Friday 19 December 2014

Catherine Bott marks the 70th birthday, today, of conductor William Christie with his performance of Mozart's Mass in C minor.

Today is the 70th birthday of the acclaimed American-born conductor William Christie, admired around the world for his mastery of the baroque repertoire, which he performs with his ensemble Les Arts Florissants.

Christie studied art history at Harvard University before going to Yale to read music. He left America for France in 1971 as one of a number of protestors who opposed the Vietnam War, and wanted to avoid the draft. In France, Christie became known for his interpretations of Baroque music, particularly French Baroque music and contemporary music. He took French citizenship in 1995.

In 1979, he founded Les Arts Florissants, named after the opera of the same name by Charpentier, which was to be the ensemble's first fully staged production. Major recognition came in 1986 with the production of Lully's Atys at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. Christie has also performed and recorded works by Monteverdi and Rameau, and widened his group's core French repertoire by introducing Purcell, Handel and Mozart. 



Nigel Hess: A Christmas Overture

John Rutter conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.2 in F major
Ashley Solomon conducts Florilegium

Samuel Coleridge Taylor: Violin Concerto
Violin: Philippe Graffin
Michael Hankinson conducts the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mass in C minor
Soloists: Patricia Petibon, Lynne Dawson, Joseph Cornwell, Alan Ewing
William Christie conducts Les Arts Florissants