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Ton Koopman

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ton Koopman is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist and musicologist. He was born in Zwolle in 1944 and studied organ, harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam. His harpsichord teacher was Gustav Leonhardt. He earned the Prix d'Excellence for both organ and harpsichord and specialised in Baroque music.

Music and breakthrough

In 1979 he founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, followed in 1992 by the Amsterdam Baroque Choir. Together they now form the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. In 1984 he also founded the Portland Baroque Orchestra. Koopman is one of the leading figures of the historically informed performance movement. That means that he plays on instruments from the composer's time or on exact copies, often with historical tunings, and follows the playing style of the day. He concentrates on Baroque music, above all that of Bach, and draws the line at the death of Mozart in 1791.

Influence

His biggest project was the recording of all of Bach's cantatas, which was completed in 2005. When his record company closed its French branch, he bought back the rights and continued the series on his own label Antoine Marchand. He then recorded the complete works of Dieterich Buxtehude, the teacher and predecessor of Bach, which was completed in 2014. Koopman is a professor at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and at Leiden University, and in 2003 was made a knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a Bach cantata in Koopman's performance and notice the sound of the instruments from Bach's time. Can you hear how the organ or the harpsichord supports the singing?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists