Eager Igor

IT is abundantly clear, at least to those in the know, that Igor Kipnis '52 knows his way around a harpsichord. He has performed on that instrument with dozens of world-class orchestras, won a seemingly countless series of awards, including six Grammy nominations, and recorded 67--yes, 67--albums, including 45 solo efforts.

And he's also a really cool guy.

This last aspect of his career is made most obvious by the long series of lectures, master classes and informal "teaching concerts" with which Kipnis has attempted to make both the harpsichord and its repertoire more accessible to skeptical audiences. He has already visited dozens of American universities in his quest to bring classical music to a young audience or, as he puts it, to "bring the mountain to Mohammed." This week finds him here at his alma mater for a series of student-oriented musical events, as part of the Office for the Arts' Learning from Performers program.

The harpsichordist broke the ice Wednesday with a typical Kipnis-ism: a two-hour recital in the Dunster House dining hall--during lunch. Kipnis said he chose Dunster House for the recital because it was his old House when he was at Harvard.

According to Kipnis, these lunch hour serenades are just the thing to create enthusiasm in an apathetic student audience. He started them after an experience at a university in Missouri: "I learned, as usual, that student attendance was poor, and I volunteered to play in the cafeteria during lunch. I was told afterwards about 75 students lined up at the box office to purchase tickets for the next evening's performance," he says.

Dunster House diners seemed favorably amused by his exhibition. "It was cool," commented Jay Reingold '89. "Chickwiches are my favorite meal anyway, and the harpsichord music was pleasant. There were none of the usual awkward pauses in lunchtime conversation; Igor was always there. And we loved his hair."

Wednesday evening found Kipnis at nearby Mather House for a dinner with students and an informal lecture and recital in the SCR, featuring works by Bach, Handel, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck and the Beatles, among others. Everywhere in his performance he displayed both astonishing technical ability and sensitive musical interpretation.

Above all, Kipnis concerns himself with bringing out the musical lines in the works he plays, and his sensitive phrasing and warm tone will happily surprise those listeners who find the harpsichord a muddled or tinkly-sounding instrument. Kipnis' playing has forced innumerable critics to reconsider the potential of this magnificent early keyboard, which composers and audiences of the 19th century almost completely neglected, and which is now undergoing a renaissance in popularity.

Igor Kipnis' stay at Harvard will culminate Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in a concert with the Mozart Society Orchestra in Paine Hall. Orchestra members say they expect an enthusiastic turn-out in response to this superb musician's charismatic approach to both his instrument and his repertoire.