Who are the top Harpsichordists?

[toby1]

I'm aware of tip top pianists whose names come up regularly even if not everyone loves them universally.

Who are the tip top harpsichordists, alive and past?

[j_menz]

Lurch.

[toby1]

I ask because a lot of keyboard music played on piano was written for harpsichord. It would be nice to hear quality harpsichord to emulate their approach to timing and ornaments.

It'd add another layer to my understanding of piano and give me ideas for approach.

[outin]

You could start by listening to such famous harpsichordist as Wanda Landowska, Ralph Kirkpatrick and Kenneth Gilbert...

[rmbarbosa]

Alive, Chiara Massini. Have a look inj youtube, She`s amazing!

[diomedes]

Generally speaking, determining the quality or characteristics of a harpsichordist is not easy, mainly due to the music written for it and the instrument itself. Usually it's not as technically demanding as piano (Scott Ross said so himself, he admitted he spent a lot of time learning piano music and plainly remarked how much work it is), and so it's a high refinement process of taste. Often that's fairly subtle.

I spend a real lot of time listening to my pile of harpsichord music treasure, and i can't really write an essay on who is the best, tbh. They all really play well, just accept it. I'm drawn to the aesthetic of harpsichord music and what has been cultivated for it, it's that simple.

I wonder what Froberger would sound like on piano. That's almost never been done, i'm guessing.

Either way, Trevor Pinnock, Kenneth Gilbert, Richard Egarr, Christophe Roussett, Scott Ross, Blandine Verlet to name a mere few. Gustave Leonhardt is considered a top authority and i think his playing is  very remarkable.

[kriatina]

Hello,
my favourite inspirations as harpsichordists were always Ralph Kirkpatrick and Kenneth Gilbert ...
... unfortunately, whenever I watched Wanda Landowska's fingers and listened to her interpretations, it instantly gave me cold shivers and I could not watch her or listen to her mathematically precise music-interpretations any longer ...
... Over the years I have collected most vinyl LP's by Trevor Pinnock, Kenneth Gilbert and Scott Ross who is one of my absolute favourite harpsichordists, because he really lived music and the listener can feel and hear it... Scott Ross made the harpsichord sing so beautifully !