Ronald Brautigam, one of Holland’s leading musicians, is remarkable not only for his virtuosity and musicality but also for the eclectic nature of his musical interests. He studied in Amsterdam, London and the United States of America – with Rudolf Serkin. In 1984 he was awarded the Nederlandse Muziekprijs, the highest Dutch musical award.
Ronald Brautigam performs regularly with leading European orchestras under distinguished conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Charles Dutoit, Bernard Haitink, Frans Brüggen, Christopher Hogwood, Andrew Parrott, Philippe Herreweghe, Jos van Immerseel, Ivan Fisher and Edo de Waart.
Besides his performances on modern instruments Ronald Brautigam has established himself as a leading exponent of the fortepiano, working with orchestras such as the 18th-Century Orchestra, Tafelmusik, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Hanover band, Concerto Copenhagen,l’Orchestre des Champs-Elysées and Anima Eterna Brugge.
In 1995 Ronald Brautigam began what has proved a highly successful association with the Swedish label BIS. Among the almost 40 titles released so far are Mendelssohn’s Piano Concertos (with Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam), and the complete works of Mozart and Haydn on fortepiano. The year 2004 saw the release of the first of a 17-CD Beethoven cycle, also on fortepiano. Already after the appearance of the first six volumes this series has become firmly established as the reference recording as far as fortepiano cycles are concerned. According to US magazine Fanfare “this could be a Beethoven piano-sonata cycle that challenges the very notion of playing this music on modern instruments, a stylistic paradigm shift.”
Besides his work for BIS, Ronald Brautigam has recorded piano concertos by Shostakovich, Hindemith and Frank Martin with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly, for Decca, as well as several CDs with his long-standing duo-partner, violinist Isabelle van Keulen.
His recordings have earned him numerous awards, including 2 Edison Awards,ca Diapason d’Or de l’année, in 2004, a ‘MIDEM Classical Award’ for that year’s best solo piano recording and in 2010 the MIDEM Classical Award for this year’s best concerto recording.
Ronald Brautigam is Benjamin Meaker Visiting Professor at Bristol University’s Music Department.