Ricardo Kanji

Pieter-Jan Belder Multi-instrumentalist Pieter-Jan Belder conducts his Musica Amphion ensemble from the keyboard. He is also active as a soloist, playing harpsichord, fortepiano, organ, clavichord, and recorder. Belder was born on January 19, 1966, in Capelle aan den IJssel in the southern Netherlands. From the start, he pursued several instruments, studying recording at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Ricardo Kanji and harpsichord with Bob van Asperen at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. He graduated from both institutions in 1990. Belder founded the chamber group Musica Amphion in 1993 and since then has divided his time between that group, his solo career, and teaching at the Sweelinck Conservatory, whose faculty he joined in 1990. In 1994, he made his recording debut, appearing on recorder under Kanjii's baton on the album Georg Philipp Telemann: Baroque Orchestra Concerto '91.

Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso organist than as a composer in his day. His sacred music, organ and choral works, and other instrumental music had an enthusiasm and seeming freedom that concealed immense rigor. Bach's use of counterpoint was brilliant and innovative, and the immense complexities of his compositional style – which often included religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit perfectly together in a profound puzzle of special codes – still amaze musicians today.

Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso organist than as a composer in his day. His sacred music, organ and choral works, and other instrumental music had an enthusiasm and seeming freedom that concealed immense rigor. Bach's use of counterpoint was brilliant and innovative, and the immense complexities of his compositional style – which often included religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit perfectly together in a profound puzzle of special codes – still amaze musicians today.

Pieter-Jan Belder Multi-instrumentalist Pieter-Jan Belder conducts his Musica Amphion ensemble from the keyboard. He is also active as a soloist, playing harpsichord, fortepiano, organ, clavichord, and recorder. Belder was born on January 19, 1966, in Capelle aan den IJssel in the southern Netherlands. From the start, he pursued several instruments, studying recording at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Ricardo Kanji and harpsichord with Bob van Asperen at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. He graduated from both institutions in 1990. Belder founded the chamber group Musica Amphion in 1993 and since then has divided his time between that group, his solo career, and teaching at the Sweelinck Conservatory, whose faculty he joined in 1990. In 1994, he made his recording debut, appearing on recorder under Kanjii's baton on the album Georg Philipp Telemann: Baroque Orchestra Concerto '91.