Jeffrey Gordon Kurtzman (born 1940) is an American pianist, musicologist and editor. A professor of musicology at the Washington University in St. Louis, he is known for his research on Italian sacred music of the 17th century, especially Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine.[1]
Jeffrey Gordon Kurtzman | |
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| Born | 1940 (age 84) |
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Life
editKurtzman studied piano at the University of Colorado, graduating in piano performance in 1963. He studied musicology at the University of Illinois from 1965 to 1968, earning a PhD in 1972 with a dissertation entitled The Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 and their Relationship with Italian Sacred Music of the Early Seventeenth Century.[2] He taught at Rice University from 1975, was appointed a professor in 1982, and has been a professor of musicology at the Washington University in St. Louis since 1986.[2]
Kurtzman is known for his research on Italian sacred music of the Renaissance and early Baroque, especially Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine.[3] He edited music by Monteverdi for Carus-Verlag, including the collection of sacred music Selva morale e spirituale and excerpts from it.[4] He authored a critical edition of the Vespro della Beata Vergine for Oxford University Press in 1999 and subsequently wrote a book, The Monteverdi Vespers of 1610: Music, Context, Performance.[5] A reviewer described it as "comprehensive" and "authoritative", covering Monteverdi's work in the context of his contemporaries, the music, and considerations for its performance.[5] He noted the author's knowledge and "keen musical instincts" in aspects of performance such as tempo, tuning, pitch and transposition, vocal technique, pronunciation and ornamentation, and continuo realization.[5]
Together with Anne Schnoebelen, Kurtzman published a catalogue of sacred music printed in Italy, around 2000 works for mass and other liturgical functions.[1] He edited the complete works by Alessandro Grandi and co-founded the Society for Seventeenth-Century Music.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c A Companion to Music in Sixteenth-Century Venice. Brill's Companions to the Musical Culture of Medieval and Early Modern Europe, vol. 2. Brill. 2018. p. XIX. ISBN 978-9-00-435830-0.
- ^ a b "Jeffrey G. Kurtzman / Department of Music / Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- ^ "Jeffrey Kurtzman – Selected Bibliography". Society for Seventeenth-Century Music. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- ^ "Jeffrey Kurtzman". Carus-Verlag. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c Saunders, Steven (March 2001). "The Monteverdi Vespers of 1610: Music, Context, Performance by Jeffrey Kurtzman". Notes. 57 (3): 626–628. doi:10.1353/not.2001.0056. JSTOR 900815. S2CID 191482160.
