Nicholas Kraemer (born 7 March 1945, in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British harpsichordist and conductor.
Kraemer began his career as a harpsichordist. From playing continuo (on a harpsichord) at the back of an orchestra he proceeded to the front where he began directing from the harpsichord, notably the English Chamber Orchestra in the 1970s, where his repertoire widened, taking in the 19th and 20th centuries as well as Baroque music.
Kraemer has served as artistic director of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the London Bach Orchestra, the music program of the Bath Festival and English Touring Opera (then Opera 80). He founded and directed the Raglan Baroque Players. From 1971 to 1988 he was musical director of the W11 Opera children's opera, which he co-founded. [1] He currently holds the positions of Principal Guest Conductor of the Manchester Camerata, Principal Guest Conductor of Music of the Baroque, Chicago and Permanent Guest Conductor of Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur.
An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
Trevor David Pinnock is a British harpsichordist and conductor.
Raymond John Leppard was a British-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music; in particular, he was one of the first major conductors to perform Baroque opera, reviving works by Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Cavalli. He conducted operas at major international opera houses and festivals, including the Glyndebourne Festival where he led the world premiere of Nicholas Maw's The Rising of the Moon, the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House. He composed film scores such as Lord of the Flies and Alfred the Great.
The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener has been orchestra leader (concertmaster) since September 2007.
A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied sonatas for harpsichord or concertos accompanied by orchestra. Accompanist harpsichordists might accompany singers or instrumentalists, either playing works written for a voice and harpsichord or an orchestral reduction of the orchestra parts. Chamber musician harpsichordists could play in small groups of instrumentalists, such as a quartet or quintet. Baroque-style orchestras and opera pit orchestras typically have a harpsichordist to play the chords in the basso continuo part.
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.
James Nicholas McGegan OBE is a British harpsichordist, flutist, conductor and early music expert.
Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman, known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir.
Roy Goodman is an English conductor and violinist, specialising in the performance and direction of early music. He became internationally famous as the 12-year-old boy treble soloist in the March 1963 recording of Allegri's Miserere with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, under David Willcocks.
Richard Egarr is a British conductor and keyboard player.
Igor Kipnis was a German-born American harpsichordist, pianist and conductor.
Laurence Alexander Cummings is a British harpsichordist, organist, and conductor. He is currently music director of the Academy of Ancient Music.
Lars Ulrik Mortensen is a Danish harpsichordist and conductor, mainly of Baroque solo music, chamber music and early music repertory. He was a professor in Munich in 1996–99 and has since then been artistic director of Concerto Copenhagen. He received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize in 2007.
Millicent Irene Silver was an English harpsichordist, who began her career as a pianist and violinist.
Jaap ter Linden is a Dutch cellist, viol player and conductor. He specialises in performance of baroque and classical music on authentic instruments.
The Avison Ensemble is one of England's leading exponents of classical music on period instruments. It is named after Charles Avison (1709–1770), the Newcastle-born composer, conductor and organist, considered ‘the most important English concerto composer of the 18th Century’. Comprising some of Europe's leading musicians and soloists, the Ensemble is directed by violinist Pavlo Beznosiuk. It varies in numbers depending on the repertoire being performed, and is typically of chamber ensemble or concerto grosso size, expanding to full chamber orchestra when needed.
Martin Pearlman is an American conductor, harpsichordist, composer, and early music specialist. He founded the first permanent Baroque orchestra in North America with Boston Baroque in 1973–74. Many of its original players went on to play in or direct other ensembles in what became a growing field in the American music scene. He later founded the chorus of that ensemble and has been the music director of Boston Baroque from its inception up to the present day.
Ivor Bolton is an English conductor and harpsichordist.
John Butt is an English orchestral and choral conductor, organist, harpsichordist and scholar. He holds the Gardiner Chair of Music at the University of Glasgow and is music director of the Dunedin Consort with whom he has made award-winning recordings in historically informed performance. He is a prolific scholar, conductor and performer of works by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Ludger Rémy was a German harpsichordist, conductor and musicologist.