Our Peter Kooij from Soest

Peter Kooij has been the bass singer with Philippe Herreweghe for many years, he sings on Masaaki Suzuki’s cantata series, with Rudolf Lutz and has contributed to many other CD recordings. His partner is the well-known contralto Margot Oitzinger and they live together with their family in Soest.

Peter Kooij will soon be 70 and he thought this was a great opportunity to release all the Bach solo cantatas for bass and alto on a double CD together with his wife. That was of course reason enough to invite them both to our podcast Bach & Co.

This invitation led to a very nice conversation with them. When Govert Jan Bach encounters Peter Kooij as a soloist in a cantata, he always announces him as: “Our Peter Kooij from Soest”. This world-famous star lives only a 20-minute bike ride from where we record Bach & Co.

What a special moment! Peter said, for example, that he flew to Japan 5 times a year for 20 years for Masaaki Suzuki’s cantata series. He no longer has to travel so much. He prefers to stay closer to home and he tries to coordinate his agenda as much as possible with that of his wife. Margot will soon be leaving for concerts in Taiwan, while Peter will stay with the children.

The entire conversation with Peter and Margot can be listened to in the Bach & Co podcast. We have declared the Bach ad Infinitum week that starts on September 9 as ‘Peter Kooij’ week, with a cantata by him or his wife Margot every day. Now she is also “OUR Margot from Soest”.

Broadcasts Bach ad Infinitum, episodes 1321 to 1325:

• Monday 9 to Friday 13 September 2024, 13.00 – 14.00 CET
• Repeats: Monday 16 to Friday 20 September 2024, 13.00 – 14.00 CET
• Click here for the playlist for Bach ad Infinitum on Monday 9 September

The podcast Bach & Co is available from Monday 9 September on the podcast platforms.

(Photo via www.chandos.net)