The conductor has spent a career and a lifetime sitting at the feet of Bach – the composer he describes as “home” – and today is no different.

“I have never chosen anything in my life.” At 71, conductor Masaaki Suzuki is a masterclass in self-deprecating politeness. The way he tells it, the Japanese musician’s pioneering career, his international success, even his Christian faith, are all happy accidents. Only the demure twinkle behind his rimless glasses, and an unarguable three decades of recordings and performances with his Bach Collegium Japan say different. Oh, and the fact that he’s just got back from New York, from receiving an honorary doctorate at the Juilliard. (Not that he mentions this.)

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