The Orchestra of the 18th Century was established by Frans Brüggen in 1981, with 60 musicians from 19 countries. Since 1991, the Orchestra consists of musicians from 23 countries worldwide. Three or four times a year the orchestra assembles to go on its concert tour. The musicians, who are all specialists in eighteenth and early nineteenth century music, play on period instruments, or on contemporary copies. It is their intention to try to achieve the most authentic possible performance of the masterpieces of the late baroque and classical era.

Frans Brüggen's wide range repertoire with his Orchestra of the 18th Century has recorded for Philips Classics including works by Purcell, Bach, Rameau, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn. Many of their recordings have received international awards. In its structure and size, the Orchestra of the 18th Century resembles the luxurious "Classical" orchestras of the period as we know them from London, Paris and Vienna.

At the time of its foundation the Orchestra was supported by friends throughout the world and the Prince Bernhard Foundation. From 1983 to 1988 the orchestra was sponsored by IBM Europe. From 1989 till 1997 Deloitte and the VSB Fonds took over the sponsorship.

Piano Soloist: Kristian Bezuidenhout

Kristian Bezuidenhout, born in 1979, began his studies in Australia at the age of ten. He has worked with teachers including Rebecca Penneys, Paul O'Dette, Malcolm Bilson, Robert Levin and Arthur Haas and completed his studies summa cum laude at the Eastman School of Music. At 21, he won the prestigious First Prize as well as the Audience Prize in the Bruges Fortepiano Competition (2001), a double honor, this being only the third time the prize has been awarded in the history of the competition.

A native of South Africa, Bezuidenhout is a versatile keyboard player who performs regularly on fortepiano, harpsichord and modern piano in North America, Europe, Great Britain, Australia and Asia. Collaborations have included chamber music with with Giuliano Carmignola, Pieter Wispelwey, Paul O'Dette, Daniel Hope, Malcolm Bilson; concertos with The Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, The Handel and Haydn Society, Concerto K?ln, the Dutch Radio Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of the 18th Century under Frans Brüggen, and lied recitals with duo-partner Jan Kobow. In November 2003 the two recorded Die sch?ne Müllerin for the Canadian label ATMA that was named record of the month at Musicweb International.  Other recent recordings include Schubert's Schwanengesang, also with Jan Kobow, and a disc of Bach Concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Kristian has appeared in the early music festivals of Boston, Bruges, Venice and Utrecht, the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in Ireland, the Brühler Schlosskonzerte in Germany, the Menuhin Festival in Switzerland, the Vermont Mozart Festival and the Poeke Fortepiano Festival in Belgium. He has served as a faculty assistant at the Eastman School of Music, where he teaches fortepiano and 18th Century performance practice. In January 2004 he was a guest on NPR's Performance Today and performed solo fortepiano recitals at Dumbarton Oaks.

To celebrate the Mozart year in 2006, Bezuidenhout appeared with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century under Frans Brüggen in a complete performance of the late Piano Concertos. The tour included concerts in Holland, Portugal and Italy.

His Symphony Hall and Carnegie Hall debuts were met with unanimous critical acclaim - Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe described his performance of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto on an 1825 Graf as "extraordinary and immensely expressive" - and his recording of Mozart solo fortepiano works entitled Sturm und Drang was considered the "most impressive and provocative debut recording in years".

Plans for the future include recitals at the Haydn Festival in Esterhaza, the Venice Festival and the St. Petersburg Early Music Festival, concerto performances with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra under Paul Dyer, the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century under Frans Brüggen, a tour of Belgium and Poland with Collegium Vocale Gent, and a recording of Lully's Thésée.

Programs

November 13

Mozart

Symphony in A major, K201

Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 20 in d minor, KV466

Beethoven

Piano Concerto No.1 in C major

November 14

Haydn

Symphony No. 49 in F minor, "La Passione"

Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat, KV595

Beethoven

Piano Concerto No. 2

Piano Soloist: Kristian Bezuidenhout