Alte Musik Köln & Léon Berben
Biography Alte Musik Köln & Léon Berben
Léon Berben
may be considered a master of his craft on the harpsichord and organ. In addition, his extensive knowledge of music history and historical performance practice makes him one of the leading figures of his generation on the early music scene.
His repertoire includes keyboard works between 1550 and 1790, and he also co-authored the encyclopaedia Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Intensive study of sources and constant research give Léon Berben's interpretative art a special status. His solo CD recordings on historical organs and harpsichords have been highly praised by the specialist press and have received several awards, including the "Diapason d'Or", the "Choc" of Le Monde de la Musique and the Quarterly Prize of the German Record Critics.
Léon Berben was born in 1970 in Heerlen (Netherlands) and lives in Cologne. He studied organ and harpsichord in Amsterdam and The Hague as the last pupil of Gustav Leonhardt as well as with Rienk Jiskoot, Ton Koopman and Tini Mathot, and graduated with a soloist's diploma.
He is associated as titular organist at the historic organ of St. Andrew's Church in Ostönnen - according to current research one of the oldest playable organs in the world (c. 1425/1722) - and in this capacity helps to oversee the concert series there.
He is senior-organist-in-residence at the Pieterskerk Leiden (NL) with the van Hagerbeer organ from 1643.
Since 2000 Léon Berben has been harpsichordist with Musica Antiqua Köln (Reinhard Goebel). In this capacity he gave guest performances in Europe, North and South America and Asia and recorded numerous CDs for Deutsche Grammophon/Archiv Produktion.
