Philzuid

Masato Suzuki was steeped in Bach's music from an early age. The Japanese conductor and harpsichordist was born in The Hague, where his father, Masaaki, studied with Bach expert Ton Koopman. "At home, the dinner table conversations always revolved around Bach," he said. Father Masaaki became renowned for his work with the Bach Collegium Japan.

Son Masato followed in his father's footsteps. He conducts Bach around the world, and last year, he led the renowned performance of the St. Matthew Passion in Naarden. In this exhilarating concert, he starts as a harpsichordist within the orchestra, then solos in front of the orchestra in Bach's beautiful Harpsichord Concerto No. 1, before finally taking the conductor's stand. Philzuid's string section takes the spotlight with a dazzling Stravinsky and, as the pièce de résistance, Haydn's beloved Symphony No. 103 "Drum Roll."