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Amanda Lee

Organist, harpsichordist and conductor Ton Koopman  is no stranger to the Hong Kong Arts Festival. After performing at the event in 1996 with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra that he founded about 30 years ago, he is back with the orchestra and will be making a debut as a solo organist.
'It's always exciting to get to know an organ that you don't know. I like to take my time to get to know an organ really well and to have it sound perfectly,' said Koopman, who will be performing at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
'It's also nice to get to know a new audience.'
His organ recital includes works by Baroque music heavyweights Dieterich Buxtehude,  Francois Couperin  and Johann Sebastian Bach.
'I like to give an overview of the organ music I like,' he said.
A champion of early and Baroque music, Koopman said music of this period was increasingly appealing to young audiences, especially in some countries in Asia.
Although in Europe there was a generation gap when listening to early music, he observed that Baroque music had a wide appeal to all ages.
'In September I was in Japan and performed in concerts attended by more than 2,000 people. A lot of them were in their 20s,' he said.
'But the older audience is also very important. They are the ones who will pass the music on.'
Audiences might already be familiar with Koopman's programme featuring Bach's magnificent Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor  and Fantasia in G.
A number of pieces by Buxtehude, who influenced Bach, including the Prelude and Chaconne in C  and the choral prelude Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott in F,  will be performed on February 28 to kick-start the recital. French baroque music is represented by Couperin's mass Elevation et Offertorium in G.
While some performers prefer to stay away from studios, Koopman likes the challenge of performing live and making recordings.
He undertook major projects over the years such as the one in which he recorded the complete cycle of all of Bach's cantatas - more than 200 in total.
And he recently started to release some recordings of another project, Buxtehude's Opera Omnia, a work in progress which will see a collection of all works written by the composer.
'I like to play in front of an audience and to make recordings,' Koopman said. 'When I play in an empty, silent church, I can strive to perfection.
'But playing a concert is a completely different experience for me and for the audience.
'It's an honour to make beautiful music and to have people enjoying it.'
Koopman will again lead the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra from the harpsichord, performing on March 3 and 4 his favourite repertoire from the Baroque period: George Frideric Handel's  Water Music Suite No 1,  Jean-Philippe Rameau's Suite from Dardanus  and the unforgettable Orchestral Suites (Nos. 1-4) written by Bach.
'The suites by Bach are the most beautiful ones written in this period,' said Koopman.
'We are also playing Rameau because French Baroque music is less known than the German style,' he said.
This year the music world around the globe will be commemorating the 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn (1732-1809).
The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra's tribute will be on March 3 when it will perform Haydn's Symphony No 83 in G minor, also known as The Hen, Koopman said.
Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra will perform on March 3 and 4 at 8pm in the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong City Hall.
The Ton Koopman Organ Recital will take place on February 28 at 8pm in the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.



Top organist returns to tune up his Baroque repertoire