MEET THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Jacques Ogg

Harpsichord

One of the most prominent and influential modern masters of harpsichord and fortepiano, Jacques Ogg performs worldwide as a soloist and continuo player. He was a member of one of the world’s leading period-instrument ensembles, the Orchestra of the 18th Century, directed by the late Frans Brüggen, and also worked with Baroque orchestras in Salamanca and Sevilla, Spain. Highly sought after as a pedagogue, he is a harpsichord professor at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, one of the world’s foremost institutes for early music. Mr. Ogg co-directs the International Baroque Instrumental Program, an intensive summer music course in the Twin Cities, and has been the artistic director of the Lyra Baroque Orchestra since 2000. His discography includes more than 60 recordings with labels such as Philips, Sony, EMI, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, and Glossa.

JACQUES OGG – MUSIC AT HOME

Many of us have been spending extra time in our homes in 2020, including musicians. Jacques Ogg invites us into his home in the Netherlands to share some of his musings from the summer: Bonjour mõ Cœur by composer Peter Philips (c.1560–1628); and Allemande Grave by Henri Dumont (1610–1684). Bonjour mõ Cœur is performed on one of Jacques’ newest harpsichords, built by Dutch harpsichord craftsman, Ton Amir, and based on an instrument housed in the National Music Museum in Vermillion South Dakota.

JACQUES OGG FEATURED IN ALL OF BACH

Watch Lyra’s artistic director Jacques Ogg perform J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp Minor (BWV 859) for the Netherlands Bach Society’s ongoing project, All of Bach. This project seeks to record all of Bach’s works and provide free online access to each recording. Visit Jacques’ All of Bach page to watch him perform this beautiful piece, and to hear an interview about how Jacques started playing harpsichord, why he loves Bach, and how he feels about F-sharp minor.