AboutFor almost 50 years, Gustav Leonhardt - harpsichordist, organist and, most recently, conductor - has counted among the most respected specialists in both the theory and practice of early music. Acclaimed for his numerous recordings of music ranging from keyboard masterpieces of the early Baroque to Mozart's sonatas, Leonhardt has played a critical role in bringing period-instrument performance into the mainstream of classical music life. Among his recent contributions to the VIVARTE catalogue are a three-CD set of Telemann's Paris Quartets (with the Kuijkens, S3K 63115), a collection of works performed on the historic organs of Austria (SK 68262), and a collection of toccatas and suites for harpsichord by Weckman and Froberger (SK 62732). In addition to his extensive recording activities, Gustav Leonhardt has done much to promote awareness of performance practice issues in the presentation of early music. As professor at the Amsterdam Conservatory since 1954 and as organist at Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk, Leonhardt has made the Netherlands a key centre in the period-instrument movement. Indeed, it may be said that Gustav Leonhardt has inspired an entire generation of early music artists, including Bob van Asperen (early keyboards and organ), Barthold Kuijken (transverse flute and recorder), and Anner Bylsma (cello), through his teaching and playing. His early interest in the organ and harpsichord led Leonhardt to study with Eduard Müller at the Schola Cantorum in Basel. He also studied musicology in Vienna, where he became professor of harpsichord at the Vienna Academy of Music. He was awarded the Erasmus Prize in 1980 and received honorary doctorates from universities in Dallas (1982) and Amsterdam (1983), and also from Harvard University (1991). He published an important study of J.S. Bach's The Art of Fugue and is the editor of the first volume of the Sweelinck Edition (Keyboard Works). In 1967, Leonhardt played the role of Johann Sebastian Bach in Jean-Marie Straub's film about the master musician.
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Gustav Leonhardt
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Gustav Leonhardt Newsletter |
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Gustav Leonhardt Discography (1title)
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