Dieterich Buxtehude was a Danish composer and organist of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal and instrumental idioms, Buxtehude's style greatly influenced other composers, such as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. Buxtehude is considered one of the most important composers of the 17th century.
Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt was an Austrian conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized in music of the Baroque period, but later extended his repertoire to include Classical and early Romantic works. Among his best known recordings are those of Bach, whose 193 cantatas he recorded with Gustav Leonhardt.
Johann Ernst Eberlin was a German composer and organist whose works bridge the baroque and classical eras. He was a composer of church organ and choral music. Marpurg claims he wrote as much and as rapidly as Alessandro Scarlatti and Georg Philipp Telemann, a claim also repeated by Leopold Mozart - though Eberlin did not live nearly as long as either of those two composers.
Andreas Paolo Perger is a contemporary Austrian guitarist, improviser, and composer of German-Polish and Austrian-Italian descent. His music, autobiographical in nature, draws from variety of traditional and contemporary influences, such as contemporary jazz, new music, improvised music, and electronic music. Perger uses a variable and open concept of guitar playing, improvising, and composing. He plays the 5.1 Surround Guitar and the classical concert guitar.
Angela Hewitt is a Canadian classical pianist. She is best known for her Bach interpretations.
Nikolai Demidenko is a Russian-born classical pianist.
Jan Václav Hugo Voříšek was a Czech composer, pianist, and organist.
Hans-Ola Ericsson is a Swedish organist and composer.
Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for which he is also recording Bach's concertos, orchestral suites, and solo works for harpsichord and organ. He is also an artist-in-residence at Yale University and the principal guest conductor of its Schola Cantorum, and has conducted orchestras and choruses around the world.
The Zurich Chamber Orchestra is a Swiss chamber orchestra based in Zurich. The ZKO's principal concert venue in Zurich is the Tonhalle. The ZKO also performs in Zurich at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, the ZKO-Haus in the Seefeld quarter of the city, and such churches as the Fraumünster and the Kirche St. Peter.
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin in 1982. Each year Akamus gives approximately 100 concerts, ranging from small chamber works to large-scale symphonic pieces in Europe's musical centers as well as on tours in Asia, North America and South America.
Klaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach for bass voice.
Johannes Pramsohler is a French-Italian violinist, conductor and record producer, specialised in Historically informed performance.
Leon Koudelak is a Czech classical guitarist.
Frank Bungarten is a classical guitarist from Germany. Although he is often regarded as a Bach expert on the guitar, Bungarten plays a wide and diverse repertoire.
Frieder Bernius is a German conductor, the founder and director of the chamber choir Kammerchor Stuttgart, founded in 1968. They became leaders for historically informed performances. He founded the Stuttgart festival of Baroque music, "Internationale Festtage Alter Musik", in 1987, and is a recipient of the Edison Award (1990), Diapason d'Or (1990) and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1993).
Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde, BWV 53, is an aria for alto, bells, strings and continuo. It was likely composed in the early 18th century, although its date of first performance is unknown. From the second half of the 18th century until the early 1950s the aria was attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1955, it was suggested by the Bach scholar Karl Anton that the aria's composer was more likely to be a member of Melchior Hoffmann's circle.
Chiyuki Urano is a Japanese classical baritone and bass who has appeared in concert and recital.
Benjamin Alard is a French classical organist, harpsichordist and clavichordist.
Jörg Breiding is a German choral conductor and academic teacher. He has been the conductor of the Knabenchor Hannover since 2002. He taught at the Musikhochschule Lübeck, and has been professor of choral conducting at the Folkwang Hochschule.
