Leonhardt, Gustav (Maria)

Leonhardt, Gustav (Maria), eminent Dutch organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and pedagogue; b. ’s Graveland, May 30, 1928. He went to Basel and studied organ and harpsichord with Eduard Müller at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (1947–50). In 1950 he made his debut as a harpsichordist in Vienna playing Bach’s Die Kunst der Fuge. After pursuing studies in musicology there, he was prof, of harpsichord at that city’s Academy of Music (1952–55). In 1954 he joined the faculty of the Amsterdam Cons. He also served as organist at the Waalse Kerk (until 1981), and then at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. His recital tours took him all over Europe and North America. In 1955 he founded the Leonhardt Consort, with which he also toured extensively. In 1999 he founded the N.Y. Collegium, which he conducted in historically informed performances on period instruments. He ed. Bach’s Die Kunst der Fuge (1952), many of Sweelinck’s keyboard works for the critical ed. of that composer’s works, and various other pieces. Leonhardt is held in the highest regard as a keyboard player, conductor, and teacher. His keyboard repertoire includes works by Bach, Handel, Sweelinck, Couperin, Frescobaldi, Rameau, Froberger, and other masters. As a conductor, he has led many performances of choral works but has also ventured into opera. His recordings have won various prizes, and in 1980 he was honored with the Erasmus Prize of the Netherlands.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire