René Jacobs
Conductor
René Jacobs (born October 30, 1946) is a Belgian (Flemish) musician. He came to fame as a countertenor but in recent years has become renowned as a conductor of Baroque and early Classical opera.
Jacobs was born in Ghent. As a child, he was a chorister at the Cathedral of Ghent. Later he studied classical philology at the University of Gent while continuing to sing in Brussels and in the Hague.
As a conductor, Jacobs regularly works with orchestras and ensembles such as the Concerto Köln, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Akademie Für Alte Musik Berlin, Nederlands Kamerkoor and Rias-Kammerchor for recordings and concert tours, performing sacred music and oratorios.
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Further Reading: René Jacobs
Recording of the Week,
Beethoven's Leonore from René Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester
6th December 2019
The original 1805 version of Beethoven's only opera is a high-adrenaline experience in the hands of the Belgian conductor and his period-instrument band, with Marlis Petersen in the title-role and Maximilian Schmitt as her imprisoned husband.
Recording of the Week,
Mozart's Requiem from René Jacobs
3rd November 2017
The Belgian conductor presents Mozart's late mass in a new version by Pierre-Henri Dutron, which builds on and refines material from the familiar Süssmayr completion.
