Pieter-Jan Belder (born 19 January 1966) is a Dutch instrumentalist in historically informed performance, playing recorder,

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

and

fortepiano A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...

. He founded the ensemble Musica Amphion for recordings and performances.

Career

Born in

Capelle aan den IJssel Capelle aan den IJssel ( ; ) is a large town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of in , and covers an area of , of which is water. It is situated on the eastern edge o ...

, Belder studied recorder with Ricardo Kanjii at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, and harpsichord with Bob van Asperen at the

Sweelinck Conservatorium 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 ...

in Amsterdam. He graduated in 1990 in both fields. Belder won the NDR-Musikpreis in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in 1997, and in 2000 the International Bach Competition in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. He has worked as a continuo player with ensembles such as the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Collegium Vocale Gent, the Concertgebouworkest and Camerata Trajectina. Belder took part in the recordings of the complete works by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

by the label

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also s ...

, including '' Das wohltemperierte Klavier''. He recorded for the label also all 555 keyboard sonatas by

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque music, Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical peri ...

in 2007, and keyboard compositions by Antonio Soler and

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of ...

. He has worked from 2010 to 2013 recording the complete ''

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book The ''Fitzwilliam Virginal Book'' is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequ ...

'' of more than 300 pieces. Belder used different instruments for the different character of compositions by

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

, Peter Philips,

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 comp ...

, Giles Farnaby and

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

, among others.

Musica Amphion

Belder founded an ensemble, Musica Amphion, for playing mostly

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...

. They recorded the complete works by

Arcangelo Corelli Arcangelo Corelli (, also , ; ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) was an List of Italian composers, Italian composer and violinist of the middle Baroque music, Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of Sonata a ...

, and the complete ''

Tafelmusik Tafelmusik (German: literally, "table-music") is a term used since the mid-16th century for music played at feasts and banquets. Table music could be either instrumental, vocal, or both. As might be expected, it was often of a somewhat lighter ...

'' by Georg Philipp Telemann in 2004. They then began a project with the label Etcetera ''Bach in Context'', combining Bach's vocal works and organ compositions focused on a theme. The fifth recording, with organist and the Gesualdo Consort, combines the Organ Sonata in E-flat major,

BWV 525 The organ sonatas, Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, BWV 525–530 by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of six sonatas in Trio sonata, trio sonata form. Each of the sonatas has three movement (music), movements, with three independent parts in the two ...

, the funeral cantata '' Actus Tragicus'', BWV 106, the motet , the chorale prelude on "",

BWV 654 The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668, are a set of chorale preludes for organ prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig in his final decade (1740–1750), from earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court organist. The wor ...

, and the cantate . The ensemble recorded in 2006 Bach's ''

Brandenburg Concertos The ''Brandenburg Concertos'' ( BWV 1046–1051) by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721 (though probably composed earlier). The origi ...

'' and his concertos for 2, 3 and 4 harpsichords. They began a recording of the complete

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

References

External links

Pieter-Jan Belder

Musica Amphion
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Pieter-Jan Belder
ArkivMusic
Pieter-Jan Belder

Pieter-Jan Belder / Born 19 January 1966

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Pieter-Jan Belder (Harpsichord, Organ, Conductor)
Bach Cantatas Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Belder, Pieter-Jan 1966 births Living people Dutch male conductors (music) Dutch harpsichordists Dutch recorder players People from Capelle aan den IJssel Royal Conservatory of The Hague alumni Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni 21st-century Dutch conductors (music) 21st-century Dutch male musicians 21st-century flautists