Individual Details
Ralph Leonard Kirkpatrick
(10 Jun 1911 - 13 Apr 1984)
Ralph Leonard Kirkpatrick was perhaps one of the world's most famous Kirkpatricks. He reached a matchless pinnacle as a concert harpsichordist and scholar.
He was born at Leominster, Massachusetts, 10 Jun 1911, the youngest child of Edwin Asbury and Florence May (Clifford) Kirkpatrick. He began the study of piano at age six. He graduated from Leominster High School in 1927. As a scholarship student at Harvard, Kirkpatrick gave piano lessons and toured as a soloist and accompanist with vocal groups. In 1929 a harpsichord was donated to the Harvard music department and when Kirkpatrick took up the instrument his interest in piano waned. In 1931 he received his A.B. degree in fine arts from Harvard, and was awarded a Paine Travelling Scholarship to study in Europe. In 1931-1932 he did research in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. At the same time, he studied harpsichord with Wanda Landowska, the world's leading harpsichordist, and theory with Nadia Boulanger. While studying he performed, his European debut being in Berlin in 1933.
In 1934 he returned to the United States. In 1938 he inaugurated a festival of baroque music at the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia, a series he directed for seven years.
In 1939 the New York Hearald-Tribune critic, Carleton Sparague Smith, wrote: "Ralph Kirkpatrick is undoubtedly the ablest harpsichordist in this country today. Few musicians possess through scholarship, virturosity in abundance and true muscianship -- in short, a complete mastery of their metier."
In 1937 he received a Guggenheim fellowship for research into seventeenth and eighteenth century performing practice in chamber music, and began to gather material which resulted in his monumental study of the eighteenth century Italian harpsichord virtuoso and composer, Domenico Scarlatti. In 1953 he published, under the imprint of Princeton University Press, "Domenico Scarlatti", regarded as the definitive critical biography of the composer. The book included a catalogue of Scarlatti's works which became the accepted standard. Scarlatti's works are cited today in the musical world by their "Kirkpatrick" numbers.
In 1956 Kirkpatrick was selected by Deutsche Grammophon Gesselschaft, the German recording company, to record the entire canon of Bach's keyboard music (excluding those works written for organ). The series was completed in 1967 and consisted of 20 long-playing discs.
His concert appearances continued over the years, including appearances at Carnegie Hall and with many major orchestral groups. he also found time to serve as professor of music at the University of California at Berkeley and more recently as professor of music at Yale University (1965-76).
Ralph Leonard Kirkpatrick did not marry. He stood five feet ten inches tall, with grey hair and blue eyes. He considered himself a liberal. His hobbies were cutting wood at his home, swimming occasionally, and practicing gourmet cooking. He died 13 April 1984 at Guilford, Connecticut.
He was born at Leominster, Massachusetts, 10 Jun 1911, the youngest child of Edwin Asbury and Florence May (Clifford) Kirkpatrick. He began the study of piano at age six. He graduated from Leominster High School in 1927. As a scholarship student at Harvard, Kirkpatrick gave piano lessons and toured as a soloist and accompanist with vocal groups. In 1929 a harpsichord was donated to the Harvard music department and when Kirkpatrick took up the instrument his interest in piano waned. In 1931 he received his A.B. degree in fine arts from Harvard, and was awarded a Paine Travelling Scholarship to study in Europe. In 1931-1932 he did research in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. At the same time, he studied harpsichord with Wanda Landowska, the world's leading harpsichordist, and theory with Nadia Boulanger. While studying he performed, his European debut being in Berlin in 1933.
In 1934 he returned to the United States. In 1938 he inaugurated a festival of baroque music at the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia, a series he directed for seven years.
In 1939 the New York Hearald-Tribune critic, Carleton Sparague Smith, wrote: "Ralph Kirkpatrick is undoubtedly the ablest harpsichordist in this country today. Few musicians possess through scholarship, virturosity in abundance and true muscianship -- in short, a complete mastery of their metier."
In 1937 he received a Guggenheim fellowship for research into seventeenth and eighteenth century performing practice in chamber music, and began to gather material which resulted in his monumental study of the eighteenth century Italian harpsichord virtuoso and composer, Domenico Scarlatti. In 1953 he published, under the imprint of Princeton University Press, "Domenico Scarlatti", regarded as the definitive critical biography of the composer. The book included a catalogue of Scarlatti's works which became the accepted standard. Scarlatti's works are cited today in the musical world by their "Kirkpatrick" numbers.
In 1956 Kirkpatrick was selected by Deutsche Grammophon Gesselschaft, the German recording company, to record the entire canon of Bach's keyboard music (excluding those works written for organ). The series was completed in 1967 and consisted of 20 long-playing discs.
His concert appearances continued over the years, including appearances at Carnegie Hall and with many major orchestral groups. he also found time to serve as professor of music at the University of California at Berkeley and more recently as professor of music at Yale University (1965-76).
Ralph Leonard Kirkpatrick did not marry. He stood five feet ten inches tall, with grey hair and blue eyes. He considered himself a liberal. His hobbies were cutting wood at his home, swimming occasionally, and practicing gourmet cooking. He died 13 April 1984 at Guilford, Connecticut.
Events
| Birth | 10 Jun 1911 | Leominster, Worcester Co., Massachusetts |  | ||
| Death | 13 Apr 1984 | Guilford, New Haven Co., Connecticut | | ||
| Burial | Unknown |
Families
| Father | Edwin Asbury Kirkpatrick (1862 - 1937) |
| Mother | Florence May Clifford (1872 - 1926) |
| Sibling | Marion Myrna Kirkpatrick (1896 - 1971) |
| Sibling | Clifford Kirkpatrick (1898 - 1971) |
| Sibling | Alice May Kirkpatrick (1902 - 1982) |
Endnotes
1. Compiled by Lyllis W. Brown, Topeka, Kansas.
2. Social Security Death Index.