SOP Podcast #61 - Arjan Breukhoven on the Importance of Preparation for Organ Recitals

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #61!

Today's guest is Arjan Breukhoven from the Netherlands who is the titular organist of the old church (builded in 1732) in Berkel and Rodenrijs. He plays each year about 450 concerts and services. He has worked on numerous recordings for radio and TV and about 200 CD’s and DVD’s. Besides all this, he is also the director of three large and well-known Dutch Male choirs. As a composer he is renowned for his many compositions for choir, organ and other instruments.

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Arjan was born in Rotterdam, studied organ and church music at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. At the same time, he studied piano, singing, improvisation and choir direction. Annually Arjan Breukhoven gives a great number of concerts as an international concert organist both at home and Europe, USA, Russia and Australia.  In 2016 he shall play in USA, Austria and twice in Germany.

The largest organ he ever played was the organ of the St. Patrick’s Basilica of Fremantle in Western Australia with 127 stops. In the most world famous church he ever played was the organ of the St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican. As an organist and as a pianist he had developed his own, wide-ranging style of improvisation. 

Arjan Breukhoven was honorable awarded in Paris at 14th of June 2014. He received the ‘Médaille d'Argent’ (silver medal) by the ‘Société Académic d' encouragement et d' éducation Arts, Sciences et Lettres’ in Paris, on the occasion of his great merit of the French organ music. He performs the French organ music worldwide.  

In this conversation, ​Arjan shares his experience as a concert organist, we talk about different instruments he played, how he writes organ registration, how he improvises, and about the importance of preparation for organ recitals.

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Related link:
www.arjanbreukhoven.nl