Ton Koopman | |
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 Ton Koopman | |
| Born | (1944-10-02)2 October 1944 (age 80) Zwolle, Netherlands |
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| Organizations | Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir |
Antonius Gerhardus Michael "Ton"Koopman (Dutch:[tɔŋˈkoːpmɑn]; born 2 October 1944) is a Dutch conductor, organist,harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of theAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir.
He is a professor in theRoyal Conservatory of The Hague and theUniversity of Leiden. In April 2003 he was knighted in the Netherlands and received theOrder of the Netherlands Lion.
Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied theorgan (with Simon C. Jansen), harpsichord (withGustav Leonhardt), andmusicology at theAmsterdam conservatory. He specialized inBaroque music and received the Prix d'Excellence for both organ and harpsichord.
On the organ, he never learned how to play with heels and toes, and because of his short height, always plays with his toes on the pedalboard. This is an authentic Baroque practice.
Koopman founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979 and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in 1992 – now combined as theAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir – and was Founder Director of thePortland Baroque Orchestra in 1984. Koopman concentrates on Baroque music, especially that ofBach and is a leading figure in the"authentic performance" movement. While a number of early-music conductors have ventured into newer music, Koopman has not. He has said, "I draw the line atMozart's death" (1791).[1] One exception is his recording of theConcert Champêtre ofFrancis Poulenc, written in 1928.
Among Koopman's most ambitious projects was the recording of the complete cycle of all ofBach's cantatas,[2] a project completed in 2005. This project had started while Koopman was an artist of the FrenchErato Classics label. However, after 12 volumes (36 CDs) the project was stalled when ownerWarner Classics wound up its French subsidiary in 2002. Koopman was able to buy back rights for the first 12 volumes and continue the series in 2003 with his own labelAntoine Marchand, distributed byChallenge Classics. "Antoine Marchand" is a French translation of his own name.[3]
Soloists for the project were among othersLisa Larsson,Cornelia Samuelis,Sandrine Piau,Sibylla Rubens,Barbara Schlick,Caroline Stam,Deborah York andJohannette Zomer (soprano),Bogna Bartosz,Michael Chance,Franziska Gottwald, Bernhard Landauer,Elisabeth von Magnus,Annette Markert andKai Wessel (alto),Paul Agnew,Jörg Dürmüller,James Gilchrist,Christoph Prégardien andGerd Türk (tenor) andKlaus Mertens (bass).
In addition to the works of Bach, Koopman has long been an advocate of the music of Bach's teacher and predecessor,Dieterich Buxtehude. He had previously recorded the keyboard works forPhilips Classics and several cantatas for Erato. He was elected president of the "International Dieterich Buxtehude Society" in 2004. Following the completion of the Bach cantatas project Koopman then embarked on a recording of the complete works of Buxtehude. In 2005 he commencedDieterich Buxtehude – Opera Omnia, a project to record the complete works ofDieterich Buxtehude, which he finished in October 2014.
Besides his work with theAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, he is in frequent demand as guest conductor and as harpsichordist and organist. In 2011, Koopman began a three-year stint as artist-in-residence with theCleveland Orchestra.[4]
His aim is always to achieve authenticity in performance, using historical instruments from the time of the composer, and/or exact copies of them, often using historicmusical temperaments, and adopting the performing style of the composers or their contemporaries. The scholar (and fellow keyboardist/conductor)John Butt has criticised Koopman's interpretation of Bach'sGoldberg Variations for its overuse of ornamentation,[5] which he attributes to a desire to differentiate his interpretation from those of Gustav Leonhardt.
In 2003 he was made a Knight in theOrder of the Netherlands Lion.[6] In January 2024 he was awarded the medallion of honour from the mayor of the city where he was born, Zwolle.[7]
Koopman is married to Tini Mathot, who is also a harpsichordist and fortepianist, and the two frequently perform together. Mathot is also his chief recording producer, as well as a teacher at the Royal Conservatory.[8] On 11 October 2012 the documentaryLive to be a hundred – a year in the life of Ton Koopman was released in Dutch cinemas.
Koopman's extensive discography includes the completeBach cantatas and organ works,St Matthew Passion (twice) andSt John Passion,Mass in B minor,Christmas Oratorio, a recording of his own reconstruction of the lostSt Mark Passion, concertos and harpsichord works by Bach,Sweelinck's complete keyboard works, the complete works ofBuxtehude,Haydn's complete harpsichord concertos,Mozart'sCoronation Mass, Vespers andRequiem, a cycle of Mozart and Haydn symphonies, Mozart's early keyboard worksK. 1a-5 and Mozart's3 Harpsichord Concertos after J.C. Bach, K. 107. He conducts 8 soloists, Nancy Zijlstra,Barbara Schlick, soprano,Klaus Mertens,Peter Kooij, bass,Dominique Visse,Kai Wessel, countertenor,Christoph Prégardien, Harry Van Berne, tenor and The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra for « Les Motets à double Chœur » H.403, H.404, H.135, H.136, H.137, H.392, H.410, H.167 byMarc-Antoine Charpentier, (2 CD Erato 1992),Vivaldi'sThe Four Seasons,Handel'sMessiah and Organ Concertos. Koopman has received many prizes for his recordings.
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