The cello and gamba soloist Jaap ter Linden is one of the best-known baroque musicians in Europe. As one of the first early music specialists, Jaap ter Linden witnessed the very beginnings of many of the oldest and finest baroque ensembles as co-founder of Musica da Camera and principal cellist of Musica Antiqua Köln, The English Concert and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. From these auspicious beginnings, he moved further into the spotlight, either playing solo concerts and intimate ensemble repertoire with the world’s finest interpreters or at the helm of an orchestra as conductor.
He founded and directs the Mozart Akademie (with which he has recorded the complete Mozart symphonies) and is a regular guest director and soloist with the Arion Ensemble (Canada). He has led many period instrument orchestras, including the San Francisco Philharmonia Baroque, Portland Baroque and Amsterdam Bachsoloists, and lent his expertise to modern ensembles such as the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie.
His extensive discography as player and conductor boasts many award-winning recordings for labels such as Harmonia Mundi, Archiv, ECM, Deutsche Grammophon and more recently Brilliant Classics. In 2006, he released his second recording of the Bach Cello Suites. Most recently he has involved himself with the world of opera, conducting Purcell’s King Arthur with the Städtische Bühne Münster and Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide with the Royal Conservatory of the Hague.
