The Süddeutsche Zeitung reveres him as an ‘icon of early music’, and the New York Times applauds him as a ‘light in a sea of mediocrity’. Reinhard Goebel specialises in the repertoire of the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries; As an expounder of period performance practice for both early music ensembles and modern orchestras, and as an endless fount of knowledge about gems of the repertoire, he is a world-renowned specialist.
The multi-award-winning CD series, “Beethoven’s World”, was released by Sony Classical during the 19/20 and 20/21 seasons, starring Germany’s leading radio orchestras (WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra), ten soloists and seven world premieres. In keeping with Reinhard Goebel’s view, “If you want to appreciate Beethoven’s life achievements you first have to know his contemporaries”, the series is intended to inspire closer investigation into Beethoven’s milieu.
Following this immense success, the next series, “New Mozarts” with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, is due for release by Sony Classical in the 21/22 season, featuring arrangements and compositions by Mozart of which most have never yet been recorded. Furthermore, Reinhard Goebel and the Berlin Baroque Soloists will release two recordings on the Hänssler Classic label with symphonies by the Bach family and works for string orchestra by Mozart.
Musical encounters in 21/22 include the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Bruckner Orchester Linz, the Noord Nederlands Orkest, the Radio Orchestra of Cologne and four concerts with the Neues Bachsches Collegiom Musicum – the baroque orchestra of Gewandhaus Leipzig. A further highlight is a tour with the Berlin Baroque Soloists with performances in the Lucerne Festival, Grafenegg to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Brandenburg Concertos.
Reinhard Goebel was the founder of the legendary Musica Antiqua Köln, whom he directed for 33 years. As a conductor, his unique way of amalgamating passion for music with meticulous musicological knowledge, inspires, captivates and polarises today’s orchestral scene.
In April 2007 the IMA award was conferred on Reinhard Goebel in London.
He is awardee of the Buxtehude Prize of the city of Lübeck (1984), the North Rhine-Westphalian State Prize (1997), the Teleman-Prize of the city of Magdeburg (2002), the Bach-Medaille of the City of Leipzig (2017) and the Dancing Shepard Prize of the city of Würzburg (2020). In 2015 the BBC Music Magazine chose him to appear on their list of the 20 best violinists of all time.