By ALLAN KOZINN [NY Times, 18 April 2006]

For musicians interested in jumping from solo careers to conducting, early music seems to be the big equal-opportunity employer right now. Conductors of conventional orchestras have been drawn — with a few notable exceptions — mostly from the ranks of pianists and violinists. But if harpsichordists and fiddlers dominate period-instrument conducting, several of today's most inspired leaders come from odder corners. Think of Frans Brüggen, the recorder virtuoso; Jaap ter Linden, the gambist; and René Jacobs, a star countertenor who, as a conductor, has made spectacular recordings of music as early as Monteverdi and as late as Mozart.