When conductor Jeannette Sorrell discovered her Jewish ancestry, her musical thinking shifted dramatically. Brace yourself for a Bach performance like no other, writes Alexandra Coghlan

Baroque music has had a revival in recent decades, springing back to life in cities like Amsterdam, Paris, London, even Boston and Leipzig. And for those in the know, there’s another pin in the map: Cleveland, Ohio.

If you zoom in close, that pin lands on Jeannette Sorrell, founder and artistic director of Apollo’s Fire, otherwise known as the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. Sorrell’s restless creative energy, curiosity and drive have turned a local endeavour international. Over the past 30 years Sorrell and her group have released 27 recordings, grown one of the largest baroque audiences in the country and, in 2019, picked up their first Grammy Award. But it all started with a rejection.

“I studied harpsichord in Amsterdam with Gustav Leonhardt, which was life-changing,” Sorrell (whose distinguished musical pedigree also includes studies with Leonard Bernstein and Roger Norrington) explains. “But I was 26 when I finished studying and, with so many baroque groups in Europe already, nobody was going to hand me a bunch of money to start one. So I went home to Cleveland.