An appreciation of Frans Brüggen (1934 – 2014), the conductor and the most famous recorder player in the world, who died in August 2014. […]
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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. […] 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. […] 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. […] An introduction to the fascinating life of Diana Poulton who was an early music pioneer, lutenist, editor, and biographer of John Dowland. Poulton studied with Arnold Dolmetsch, extensively researched early sources herself and taught several generations of lutenists, many of whom have since become internationally famous. […] The Dolmetsch Family with Diana Poulton: Pioneer Early Music Recordings, volume 1 is an important historical document for anyone who’s interested in two generations of early music pioneers who were active before the Leonhardt/Harnoncourt era even began. […] |
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