Born: September 27, 1930 - Berlin, German
Died: January 24, 2002 - Redding, Connecticut, USA

The distinguished American harpsichordist and fortepianist, Igor Kipnis, is the son of the Russian bass Alexander Kipnis. In 1938 the family moved to the USA, where he took piano lessons with his maternal grandfather, Heniot Levy; after attending the Westport (Connecticut) School of Music, he studied with Thompson and Thurston Dart at Harvard University, receiving B.A. in 1952. He also took harpsichord lessons with Valenti.

Igor Kipnis made his concert debut as a harpsichordist in a New York radio broadcast in 1959. His formal concert debut followed there in 1962. He taught at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood (summers, 1964-1967). In 1967 he made his first European tour, and subsequently toured throughout the world. He served as an associate professor of fine arts (1971-1975) and artist-in-residence .(1975-1977) at Fairfield University in Connecticut. He also taught and played al the Festival Music Society concerts in Indianapolis and taught at its Early-Music Institute. In 1981 he made his debut as a fortepianist in Indianapolis. He did much to revive the fortepiano. He also promoted interest in modern music. Several contemporary composers, among them Rorem, Rochberg, Richard Rodney Bennett, Kolb, and John McCabe, have written works for him.

Source: Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (October 2002)

Igor Kipnis: Short Biography | Recordings of Vocal Works | Recordings of Instrumental Works
Reviews of Instrumental Recordings: Bach’s Partitas from Kipnis and Carolan

Links to other Sites

Igor Kipnis Website
Performance Today: Remembering Igor Kipnis

A man of many talents (Music & Vision)
Igor Kipnis - Biography (AMG)