Ralph Kirkpatrick
Encyclopedia
Ralph Kirkpatrick was an American musician, musicologist and harpsichord
ist. He is most famous for his chronological catalog of Domenico Scarlatti
's keyboard sonatas.
. He studied Art History at Harvard University
and went on to further studies with Nadia Boulanger
and harpsichord revival pioneer Wanda Landowska
in Paris
, as well as Arnold Dolmetsch
in Haslemere
, Heinz Tiessen
in Berlin
and Günther Ramin
in Leipzig
. From 1933 to 1934, he taught at the Mozarteum in Salzburg
, Austria
. A Guggenheim Scholarship later enabled him to study manuscripts and sources in Europe.
From 1940 he was a professor at Yale University
, where he published his biography of Domenico Scarlatti
and a critical edition of Scarlatti's complete works (1953). These are now conventionally designated by their Kirkpatrick numbers (shown as Kk. --, and more recently with a single K.), which is now considered the standard, authoritative numbering system for Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas (despite at least two rival systems) (see opus number
).
Kirkpatrick made a number of recordings of the harpsichord works of Johann Sebastian Bach
(Archive recordings). He also produced an edition of Bach's Goldberg Variations
(1938, G. Schirmer, Inc. New York - 37149) which includes extensive discussion of ornamentation, fingering, phrasing, tempo, dynamics, and general interpretation. He also authored the posthumous Interpreting Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: A Performer's Discourse.
Kirkpatrick also played modern music, including Quincy Porter
's Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra, Darius Milhaud
's Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord, and the Double Concerto for Harpsichord, Piano and Chamber Orchestra by Elliott Carter
, which was dedicated to him.
As a performer and recording artist, he became best known for his harpsichord
performances of the keyboard music of Bach and Scarlatti. He also recorded on the clavichord
(e.g. Bach's two- and three-part inventions) and on the fortepiano
(especially works by Mozart
). He recalled playing a clavichord at a house concert
in Hamburg, Germany.
Kirkpatrick died in Guilford, Connecticut
at the age of 72.
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
ist. He is most famous for his chronological catalog of Domenico Scarlatti
Domenico Scarlatti
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
's keyboard sonatas.
Life and work
Kirkpatrick was born in Leominster, MassachusettsLeominster, Massachusetts
Leominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 40,759 at the 2010 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and west of Boston. Both Route 2 and Route 12 pass through Leominster. Interstate 190,...
. He studied Art History at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and went on to further studies with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
and harpsichord revival pioneer Wanda Landowska
Wanda Landowska
Wanda Landowska was a Polish harpsichordist whose performances, teaching, recordings and writings played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in the early 20th century...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, as well as Arnold Dolmetsch
Arnold Dolmetsch
Arnold Dolmetsch , was a French-born musician and instrument maker who spent much of his working life in England and established an instrument-making workshop in Haslemere, Surrey...
in Haslemere
Haslemere
Haslemere is a town in Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is approximately south-west of Guildford.Haslemere is surrounded by hills,...
, Heinz Tiessen
Heinz Tiessen
Richard Gustav Heinz Tiessen was a German composer.-Biography:Tiessen was born at Königsberg, where he studied with composer Erwin Kroll before moving to Berlin. There, he enrolled at Humboldt University and at the Stern'sches Konservatorium, where he studied composition and music theory...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Günther Ramin
Günther Ramin
Günther Werner Hans Ramín was an influential German organist, conductor, composer and pedagogue in the first half of the 20th century....
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. From 1933 to 1934, he taught at the Mozarteum in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. A Guggenheim Scholarship later enabled him to study manuscripts and sources in Europe.
From 1940 he was a professor at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he published his biography of Domenico Scarlatti
Domenico Scarlatti
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
and a critical edition of Scarlatti's complete works (1953). These are now conventionally designated by their Kirkpatrick numbers (shown as Kk. --, and more recently with a single K.), which is now considered the standard, authoritative numbering system for Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas (despite at least two rival systems) (see opus number
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
).
Kirkpatrick made a number of recordings of the harpsichord works of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
(Archive recordings). He also produced an edition of Bach's Goldberg Variations
Goldberg Variations
The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a work for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, the work is considered to be one of the most important examples of variation form...
(1938, G. Schirmer, Inc. New York - 37149) which includes extensive discussion of ornamentation, fingering, phrasing, tempo, dynamics, and general interpretation. He also authored the posthumous Interpreting Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: A Performer's Discourse.
Kirkpatrick also played modern music, including Quincy Porter
Quincy Porter
Quincy Porter was an American composer and teacher of classical music.Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he went to Yale University where his teachers included Horatio Parker and David Stanley Smith. Porter received two awards while studying music at Yale: the Osborne Prize for Fugue, and the...
's Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra, Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
's Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord, and the Double Concerto for Harpsichord, Piano and Chamber Orchestra by Elliott Carter
Elliott Carter
Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1930s, and then returned to the United States. After a neoclassical phase, he went on to write atonal, rhythmically complex music...
, which was dedicated to him.
As a performer and recording artist, he became best known for his harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
performances of the keyboard music of Bach and Scarlatti. He also recorded on the clavichord
Clavichord
The clavichord is a European stringed keyboard instrument known from the late Medieval, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was widely used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composition, not being loud enough for larger performances. The clavichord produces...
(e.g. Bach's two- and three-part inventions) and on the fortepiano
Fortepiano
Fortepiano designates the early version of the piano, from its invention by the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. It was the instrument for which Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven wrote their piano music...
(especially works by Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
). He recalled playing a clavichord at a house concert
House concert
A house concert or home concert is a musical concert or performance art that is presented in someone's home or apartment, or a nearby small private space such as a barn, apartment rec room, lawn, or back yard....
in Hamburg, Germany.
Kirkpatrick died in Guilford, Connecticut
Guilford, Connecticut
Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the coast. The population was 21,398 at the 2000 census...
at the age of 72.