Bob van Asperen

Specializing in the repertoire of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century composers, Bob Van Asperen pursues a dual career as organist and conductor while also commanding the harpsichord and clavichord with notable grace and sensuous expression. Born in Amsterdam, he trained on the harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt and on the organ with Albert de Klerk, completing both his academic and practical studies in 1972 before embarking on a professional path of concerts and recordings.

His discography appears on EMI, Teldec, Sony Classical, and Astree and includes the Goldberg Variations, selected works of J.S. Bach, the Dutch oratorio The Tears of Peter and Paul, and the earliest Dutch harpsichord sonata by Sweelinck and Sybrandus van Noordt. He has likewise performed music by Couperin and Scarlatti as well as pieces from the Low Countries, touring extensively through Holland, Europe, the United States, Russia, and Australia. His authority in the field has led him to adjudicate harpsichord competitions in Amsterdam, Paris, and Hamburg, Germany.

Critical acclaim for his recordings has brought prizes such as the Edison Prize in 1979, the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, the Prix Cecilia, the Timbre d'Argent, and the Diapason d'Or, awarded in France, Belgium, and Holland. Residing in Amsterdam, he serves as professor of organ, clavichord, harpsichord, and related subjects at the Sweelinck Conservatory, where his classes draw students from many countries. Each summer he directs short academies in Germany, Holland, Italy, France, and Canada that combine performance instruction with historical study of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Through this teaching he seeks to return something to the musical community and to sustain the heritage of early composers. As an accomplished organist, harpsichordist, and conductor, Bob Van Asperen continues to reconstruct and reinterpret the works of classical masters.