Ton Koopman
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Ton Koopman (born October 12, 1944 in Zwolle, Netherlands) is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.
He studied musicology in Amsterdam, specializing in Baroque music. In 1979 he founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and in 1992 the Amsterdam Baroque Choir. He concentrates on baroque music, especially Bach, and is a leading figure in the authentic performance movement. Among his most ambitious projects is the recording of the complete cycle of all of Bach's cantatas, which was completed in 2005. He has received many prizes for his outstanding recordings.
Besides his work with his own orchestra and choir he is in frequent demand as guest conductor and as harpsichordist and organist. Some of his organ interpretations have drawn criticism for their overuse of ornamentation. His aim is always to achieve authenticity in performance, using exact copies of historical instruments from the time of the composer.
In 2003 he established his own recording company "Antoine Marchand" (a French translation of his name).
In april 2003 he was knighted in the Netherlands, receiving the Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw (literally: order of the Dutch lion).
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