Flutist, harpsichordist, and conductor Pieter-Jan Belder was born in Capelle aan den Ijssel, the Netherlands on January 19, 1966. He best known as the founder of early music ensemble Musica Amphion. His musical journey began when he studied the recorder at Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague and the harpsichord at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam. graduating from both classes in 1990. His first album, Sweelinck: Works for Harpsichord, was released in 1993 on the Erasmus label. Signing with the Brilliant Classics label, he released Bach: Goldberg Variations and Italian Concert/French Overture Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue (1999). After winning the NDR-Musikpreis in Hamburg, Germany in 1997 and the International Bach Competition in Leipzig in 2000, he worked with several esteemed ensembles including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), De Nederlandse Bachvereniging (Naarden), and the Camerata Trajectina (Utrecht). Pieter-Jan Belder formed the Musica Amphion in 1993, which specialized in 17th and 18th century orchestral and chamber music, all played on period instruments. Between 2000 and 2008, the ensemble recorded the complete 555 Scarlatti sonatas over a period of several releases. Further releases include Rameau: Complete Works for Harpsichord (2009), Soler: Keyboard Sonatas - Volume 4 (2011), The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1, and Vol. 2 (both released in 2012 and followed by further volumes in 2014-2020), Telemann: Tafelmusik (2013), Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (2013), Dandrieu: Trois Livres de Pièces de Clavecin (2023), and Byrd: My Ladye Nevells Booke (2023).
