Giovanni Antonini

Conductor, recorder player and flautist Giovanni Antonini is renowned for combining a passionate, exciting interpretive approach and devotion to historical accuracy in music of the Baroque and Classical periods. Born in Milan in 1965, Antonini studied in Geneva and in 1985 cofounded Il Giardino Armonico in Milan with lutenist Luca Pianca to focus on period-perfect reproductions of 17th- and 18th-century music. The ensemble made its recording debut in 1989 and became an important part of the HIP (Historically Informed Performance) movement, winning Grammy and Gramophone awards and working with legendary guest artists like Katia & Marielle Labèque along the way. Besides conducting Il Giardino Armonico, Antonini is a principal guest conductor for both Austria’s Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg and Switzerland’s Kammerorchester Basel. He has also earned an international reputation as an operatic conductor, and he is the leader of Haydn2032, a project dedicated to recording and performing all of Haydn’s 107 symphonies by 2032, the composer’s 300th birthday.