Overview
Presents previously unpublished memoirs (1933-77), lectures, and essays by the eminent harpsichordist and scholar Ralph Kirkpatrick. This collection of unpublished writings by the eminent harpsichordist and scholar Ralph Kirkpatrick contains his memoirs for the period 1933-77 as well as essays on a variety of topics, including his preparation for the first performance of Elliott Carter's Double Concerto, thoughts on editing Bach's Goldberg Variations, and reflections on recording, chamber music, performance, and harpsichords and their transport. The volume also contains five lectures from a Yale University lecture series presented between 1969 and 1971, a bibliography of publications by and about Kirkpatrick, a discography of his recordings, and a foreword by former Kirkpatrick student and renowned organist William Porter. Meredith Kirkpatrick, the niece of Ralph Kirkpatrick, is a librarian and bibliographer at Boston University and the editor of Ralph Kirkpatrick: Letters of the American Harpsichordist and Scholar (University of Rochester Press, 2014).
Full Product Details
Author: Meredith Kirkpatrick (Customer)
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Imprint: University of Rochester Press
Volume: v. 140
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.70cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.448kg
ISBN: 9781580465915
ISBN 10: 1580465919
Pages: 226
Publication Date: 31 March 2017
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Kirkpatrick's keen and often scathing observations about the harpsichord world, delivered in that unique style all his students remember well. Opens a window onto much of 20th-century cultural history. We encounter Francis Poulenc, Igor Stravinsky, Elliott Carter, Eugene Ormandy, Isaiah Berlin, Bernard Berenson, Bruno Walter (with whom he performed St. Matthew Passion in 1940), Paul Hindemith (they played Biber's Mystery Sonatas together in 1942), and the young Herbert von Karajan. Essential reading for anyone interested in the harpsichord, scholarship, and musical style. EARLY MUSIC AMERICA (Mark Kroll) (From) a musician who was widely admired as one of the finest harpsichordists of his day (comes) this collection of memoirs, essays and lectures, all previously unpublished and edited sensitively by Kirkpatrick's niece...(The memoirs are) pleasingly anecdotal. Throughout...one is conscious of Kirkpatrick's professionalism and intellect as a musician, his erudition as a lover of fine art, language and literature, his sturdiness of opinion and his capacity for self-awareness and judgment. He takes a stout swipe at (the) early music (movement)'s 'self-limitation' and 'general atrophy of the sensibilities'. GRAMOPHONE (Lindsay Kemp) (A welcome new book of writings by) the trailblazing American harpsichordist...edited with exemplary thoroughness by his niece Meredith Kirkpatrick. It's kick-started by an agreeably gossipy memoir. Humour and waspish observations gild memoir and polemic alike. Many of the issues pondered with characteristic clarity are no less relevant fifty years on...(He) insists 'it's far less wrong to perform Scarlatti well on the piano than to play it badly on the harpsichord'. Hear, hear. (Four stars, and Editor's Choice) BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE (Paul Riley) While I was a graduate student at Yale, Ralph Kirkpatrick's questions, discussions, and performances redirected my thinking about music. Although, in these Reflections, he decries his ability to contribute in both music and words, I can think of no one who came closer to finding a balance. This book guides us into the thinking of one of the twentieth century's finest musicians. -- Lawrence Jones, emeritus professor and former dean (Brandon University, School of Music)
(From) a musician who was widely admired as one of the finest harpsichordists of his day (comes) this collection of memoirs, essays and lectures, all previously unpublished and edited sensitively by Kirkpatrick's niece...(The memoirs are) pleasingly anecdotal. Throughout...one is conscious of Kirkpatrick's professionalism and intellect as a musician, his erudition as a lover of fine art, language and literature, his sturdiness of opinion and his capacity for self-awareness and judgment. He takes a stout swipe at (the) early music (movement)'s 'self-limitation' and 'general atrophy of the sensibilities'. GRAMOPHONE (Lindsay Kemp) (A welcome new book of writings by) the trailblazing American harpsichordist...edited with exemplary thoroughness by his niece Meredith Kirkpatrick. It's kick-started by an agreeably gossipy memoir. Humour and waspish observations gild memoir and polemic alike. Many of the issues pondered with characteristic clarity are no less relevant fifty years on...(He) insists 'it's far less wrong to perform Scarlatti well on the piano than to play it badly on the harpsichord'. Hear, hear. (Four stars, and Editor's Choice) BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE (Paul Riley) While I was a graduate student at Yale, Ralph Kirkpatrick's questions, discussions, and performances redirected my thinking about music. Although, in these Reflections, he decries his ability to contribute in both music and words, I can think of no one who came closer to finding a balance. This book guides us into the thinking of one of the twentieth century's finest musicians. -- Lawrence Jones, emeritus professor and former dean (Brandon University, School of Music)
