Sigiswald Kuijken

Sigiswald Kuijken emerged early as a leading advocate for authentic Baroque violin methods, both in performance and pedagogy. Growing up, he and his siblings encountered period instruments from a young age, with Sigiswald and Wieland developing an instinctive grasp of the viola da gamba through self-directed exploration.

Born on February 16, 1944, in Dilbbek, Belgium, he first pursued violin studies at the conservatory in Bruges before advancing to Brussels under Maurice Raskin, where he completed his diploma in 1964. Through independent investigation of historical performance conventions, Kuijken adopted a technique for Baroque repertoire that dispensed with both chinrest and shoulder rest, holding the instrument without any chin support whatsoever. He began imparting this approach to others, who soon embraced it widely. From 1971 to 1996 he instructed in Baroque violin at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, followed by a tenure from 1993 to 2009 at the Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium in Brussels, while also serving as a frequent guest instructor at the Royal College of Music in London, Salamanca University, and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, among additional institutions.

Between 1964 and 1972 he appeared regularly with the Alarius Ensemble. Prompted by Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and Gustav Leonhardt, he established La Petite Bande specifically to interpret Baroque and Classical compositions. With this ensemble he has toured extensively across Europe, North America, Australia, China, and Japan, producing recordings of works by Lully, Pergolesi, Mozart, Haydn, Bach, and Geminiani. Separate ventures have brought him together with his brothers Wieland and Barthold, as well as Gustav Leonhardt, Robert Kohnen, Anner Bylsma, Frans Brüggen, and René Jacobs.

In 1986 Kuijken and Wieland created the Kuijken String Quartet, incorporating François Fernandez and Marleen Thiers and occasionally violist Ryo Terakado, with a focus on Classical-era quartets and quintets. That year he also directed the first concert of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in London. By the late 1990s he had expanded into conducting contemporary orchestras in repertoire by Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms. Since 1998 he has increasingly performed within enlarged family groups alongside daughters Veronica on piano, Sara on viola, and Marie as soprano; these formations encompass the Kuijken Piano Quartet, featuring Veronica, Sara, and Michel Boulanger on cello, together with song recitals alongside Marie.

His discography spans Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Accent, Brilliant Classics, and Challenge Classics, encompassing the complete Mozart violin sonatas, chamber works by Mozart and Debussy performed with his brothers, and Bach cantatas recorded with La Petite Bande from 2006 to 2012. In 2019 he released Heinrich Schütz’s Resurrection of Christ on Accent and Bach’s Matthäus-Passion on Challenge Classics.