A Baroque flutist has proven his mettle

Kuijken
Baroque flute player Barthold Kuijken in MPR's Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio.
MPR Photo/Karl Gehrke

Belgian flutist Barthold Kuijken says he has always been drawn to the hauntingly beautiful sound of the one-keyed, wooden Baroque flute. He studied the modern silver flute in Brussels, even playing in an avant-garde music ensemble. When he was 18, he came across an original, wooden instrument that became "his greatest teacher."

Today, Kuijken is considered one of the finest Baroque flute virtuosos. A teacher, conductor and scholar who has published critical, annotated editions of Bach's works for flute, Kuijken performs with his brothers, Sigiswald and Wieland, viola da gamba and Baroque violin specialists, and gives recitals all over the world.

During a visit to the Twin Cities for workshops and a weekend Schubert Club performance, he stopped by Minnesota Public Radio's Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio to talk with Classical Music Host Alison Young about his career and the peculiarities of the Baroque flute as well as to perform his transcriptions of a suite of dances by Silvius Leopold Weiss.

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