Frans Brüggen (born October 30, 1934, Amsterdam) is a well-known Dutch conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist.
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Brüggen studied recorder and flute at the Amsterdam Muzieklyceum. He also studied musicology at the University of Amsterdam. In 1955, at the age of 21, he was appointed professor at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Brüggen has been a visiting professor at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley.
In addition to his career as a soloist in the baroque repertoire, Brüggen co-founded the Orchestra of the 18th Century (Orkest van de Achttiende Eeuw) in 1981, along with Sieuwert Verster.[1] He has conducted many leading European orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He was the conductor of the Radio Kamerorkest from 1991 to 1994, and joint chief conductor of the orchestra, alongside Peter Eötvös, from 2001 until the dissolution of the orchestra in 2005. He is one of the Emeritus Conductors of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
His recordings include, as a flautist, selections from the Pièces de Clavecin en Concerts of Jean-Philippe Rameau,[2] and as a conductor, symphonies of Beethoven,[3] Joseph Haydn[4] and Franz Schubert.
Brüggen is the uncle of recorder soloist and Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet member, Daniël Brüggen.
Brüggen is married to art historian Machtelt Israëls, with whom he has two daughters, Zephyr and Eos.[7]