The first version of the Leonhardt Consort (est. 1954), with harpsichord, recorders and strings, is very little known, and finding information has been difficult. Yet this short-lived co-operation with the then well-known recorder virtuoso Kees Otten undoubedly helped Leonhardt’s reputation. With rare photos and translated extracts of an interview with Otten, on Leonhardt’s approach and their concerts with Alfred Deller. […]
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For several decades, the harpsichordist George Malcolm was famous for playing the “jangle box”, as he called it. He was important in introducing many people to the sound of the harpsichord, even though his interpretations may now seem outdated. He played for many years with Yehudi Menuhin, and made recordings with Julian Bream and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. This post is to announce the launch of a comprehensive commemorative website. […] Frans Brüggen was about 8 years old when he got his first recorder lessons from his brother Hans. His next, and only, other teacher was Kees Otten, with whom he started playing professionally after he passed his exams. This post covers Brüggen’s early years, up to his first contact with Gustav Leonhardt. […] Apart from making instruments such as the Renaissance guitar, vihuela, cittern, orpharion, French mandore, viola de mano and bandora (including one for James Tyler), and playing all of the above, Donald Gill also wrote two small books and contributed authoritative articles to the Galpin Society Journal, the Lute Society Journal and Grove. […] The harpsichord, based on Dulcken 1745, which Martin Skowroneck built in 1962 for Gustav Leonhardt was an important milestone in the early music revival. This article covers their first meeting and Skowroneck’s earlier work which led him to make this game-changing instrument. […] Dutch recorder virtuoso Kees Otten (1924–2008), was the teacher of Frans Brüggen and many others, and a musician of great importance for the emancipation of the recorder in Holland, its acceptance as a serious instrument, and the establishment of historically informed performance practice. […] The funeral of Gustav Leonhardt, 24 January 2012: a short report for those who could not attend. […] The fascinating musical life of Charles Thornton Lofthouse, a piano student of Alfred Cortot and a noted continuo player who taught the harpsichord at the Royal College of Music from 1934. […] Description and history of a seemingly “forgotten” organ by Bernard “Father” Smith, the organ-builder superstar of the seventeenth century, which includes 4 complete pieces played on the original 1688 stops. […] |
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