Alan Curtis (harpsichordist)
Encyclopedia
Alan Curtis is a noted American harpsichordist
, musicologist, and conductor
of baroque opera. After graduate studies at the University of Illinois
(PhD, 1960), where he wrote his dissertation on the keyboard music of Sweelinck, he studied in Amsterdam
with Gustav Leonhardt
, with whom he subsequently recorded a number of the Bach concerti for multiple harpsichords. In the 1960s and 1970s he made a number of groundbreaking recordings of solo harpsichord music, including albums dedicated to the keyboard music of Rameau and the works of Johann Sebastian Bach
, including a famous set of the Goldberg Variations
made on a 1728 Christian Zell
harpsichord.
Following an academic career divided between UC Berkeley and Europe
, Curtis now devotes his time to performing dramatic music from Monteverdi to Mozart. As a student in the 1950s he was the first modern harpsichordist to address the problem of Louis Couperin
's unmeasured preludes for harpsichord
and subsequently recreated operas by composers such as Monteverdi and Rameau using period instruments and authentic choreography.
He commissioned both the first chitarrone and the first chromatic (split-key) harpsichord to be built in the 20th century and in a production of Handel
's Admeto
(1978) he made the first successful attempt to revive Handel's opera orchestra, including the now widely accepted use of the archlute
.
Curtis founded the European ensemble Il Complesso Barocco.
Harpsichordist
A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord.Many baroque composers played the harpsichord, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, George Frideric Handel, François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau...
, musicologist, and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
of baroque opera. After graduate studies at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
(PhD, 1960), where he wrote his dissertation on the keyboard music of Sweelinck, he studied in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
with Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt is a highly renowned Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. Leonhardt has been a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments...
, with whom he subsequently recorded a number of the Bach concerti for multiple harpsichords. In the 1960s and 1970s he made a number of groundbreaking recordings of solo harpsichord music, including albums dedicated to the keyboard music of Rameau and the 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...
, including a famous set of the 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...
made on a 1728 Christian Zell
Christian Zell
Christian Zell was a German harpsichord maker.He was probably a pupil of harpsichord maker Michael Mietke. The first mention of him is in 1722 in the register of citizens of Hamburg, the city where he was to spend the rest of his life...
harpsichord.
Following an academic career divided between UC Berkeley and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Curtis now devotes his time to performing dramatic music from Monteverdi to Mozart. As a student in the 1950s he was the first modern harpsichordist to address the problem of Louis Couperin
Louis Couperin
Louis Couperin was a French Baroque composer and performer. He was born in Chaumes-en-Brie and moved to Paris in 1650–51 with the help of Jacques Champion de Chambonnières. Couperin worked as organist of the Church of St. Gervais in Paris and as musician at the court...
's unmeasured preludes for 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...
and subsequently recreated operas by composers such as Monteverdi and Rameau using period instruments and authentic choreography.
He commissioned both the first chitarrone and the first chromatic (split-key) harpsichord to be built in the 20th century and in a production of Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's Admeto
Admeto
Admeto, re di Tessaglia is a three-act opera written for the Royal Academy of Music with music composed by George Frideric Handel to an Italian-language libretto prepared by Nicola Haym. The story is partly based on Euripedes' Alcestis. The opera's first performance was at the Haymarket Theatre...
(1978) he made the first successful attempt to revive Handel's opera orchestra, including the now widely accepted use of the archlute
Archlute
The archlute is a European plucked string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the performance of solo music, and the Renaissance tenor lute, which lacked the bass range of the theorbo...
.
Curtis founded the European ensemble Il Complesso Barocco.