Bob van Asperen (born 8 October 1947, in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
) is a Dutch
harpsichordist
A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...
and early keyboard instrument performer, as well as a conductor. He graduated in 1971 from the
Amsterdam Conservatory
The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...
, where he studied the
harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
with
Gustav Leonhardt and the
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
with
Albert de Klerk. Since then he has been performing extensively in Europe and the rest of the world as a soloist and accompanist/conductor.
In addition to his live performances, he has recorded repeatedly for several labels, including Sony, EMI, Teldec, Virgin, and Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, specialising in the keyboard repertoire of the 16th - 18th centuries, such as the harpsichord works of
Froberger,
J. S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
, and
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
. One of the most important discography projects he has undertaken is the complete keyboard works of
C.P.E. Bach and also the complete sonatas of Catalan composer
Antonio Soler
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...
(Astrée, 1992). Various other projects are under way, while many of his recordings have been awarded numerous prizes, such as the
Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik
The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...
and the
Diapason d'Or
The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...
.
Bob van Asperen has taught at the
Royal Conservatory of The Hague
The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherl ...
and the
Amsterdam Conservatory
The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...
and for the past thirty years he has given master-classes in Europe, USA and elsewhere. In addition to his teaching activities, he has contributed as a musicologist and editor of several modern editions of works by J. S. Bach and
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( ; April or May, 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard compo ...
, as well as other early Dutch composers.
External links
Biography on Bach Cantatas WebsiteBiography on Oxford IndexBiography on allmusic.comBiography on Piccola Academia di Montisi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asperen, Bob van
1947 births
Living people
Dutch harpsichordists
Dutch conductors (music)
Male conductors (music)
Dutch classical organists
Male classical organists
Dutch musicologists
Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague
Musicians from Amsterdam
21st-century conductors (music)
21st-century organists
21st-century male musicians