WHERE HE'S BEEN: To Japan, where he was cheered by audiences unaccustomed to solo harpsichord concerts.

WHERE HE'S GOING: On tour in Spain, stopping in Barcelona to record Bach's "A Musical Offering" with early music superstar Jordi Savall.

WHY HE DOES WHAT HE DOES: "I play old music on old instruments because I passionately love the sound. I am deeply involved with the way keyboard instruments are built and how their makers intend them to sound. The collaboration between composers and instrument builders was a rich tradition that is closely tied to music's development. My idea for a recording often begins when I discover a particular instrument that grabs me and I feel that it must be heard."

MAJOR INFLUENCES: "I came to music fairly late, at age 12. Before then I was interested in painting, since my father is a noted abstract painter in France. But then I heard Gustav Leonhardt's recording of Bach's English Suites, and the way he was perfectly at home in this style really impressed me. I also loved Wanda Landowska's acidulous and sarcastic way with Scarlatti. Other musicians who influenced me include conductors like Frans Brüggen, Wieland Kuijken, and Jordi Savall. But among modern harpsichordists there is no one else of the stature of Gustav Leonhardt. I am proud to have studied with him."

WHAT HE DOES WHEN HE'S NOT AT THE KEYBOARD: "I have a five-year-old son, and it's amazingly time-consuming taking him to and from school and looking after him when he's home. In the summer, I like to take as much time as possible for family vacations."

WHAT HE'D LIKE TO DO NEXT: "I'd like to play some more French music, especially Couperin and Rameau, and more English music as well, like Gibbons and Byrd. It's always a question of affinities. Sometimes you love a piece that doesn't suit you, but five years later it fits. Maybe you've learned something in the interim, who knows? That's why I don't like to make set plans too far in advance -- you never know what affinities may suddenly arise."