This might have been the first time we saw Ton Koopman lead the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. Decades later, we helped Ton celebrate his 80th birthday.
Excellent they were too, both in 2024 and in 2001.
In 2001 we saw/heard:
- Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber – Battalia
- Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer – Concerto No 2 in B flat major
- Antonio Lucio Vivaldi – Concerto in B minor for four violins, cello and strings Op 3 No 10 (RV580)
- Carlo Farina – Capriccio Stravagante
- Johann Sebastian Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No 3 in G Major BWV 1048
- Johann Sebastian Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No 5 in D Major BWV 1050
Here is the andante from the Wassenaer:
I cannot find a recording of Koopman’s lot doing the Farina, as it were, but this Irish interpretation is rather jolly:
The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra under Ton Koopman did most of their recording of this type of stuff in the late 1980s. Here’s an example of their Brandenburg Concerto performances: