74 ❧ chapter three
possible, we aimed to use originals for the fi nal choice, but for every “take” that
was accepted it was also necessary to provide a supplementary version in order
to insure against any accidents.
My last recording was made in Munich in June, 1970. It consisted of eigh-
teen Scarlatti sonatas played on a harpsichord made by Rainer Schütze. For the
fi rst time in all these years of recording, an ideal room had at last been found.
It was the assembly room of the Bavarian Academy, which had been built into
a wing of that same Residenz which fi fteen years before had been but a gaping
shell out of which rubble and ashes were being carted. For once, these sessions
went smoothly, and although I have not heard the fi nished recording, I had
the impression from playbacks that it was one of the best that I have ever made.
Feeling as I do that performance must renew itself every generation, I can
hardly regard the accumulated recordings as an artistic legacy for the future,
although they may play a role in satisfying a certain historical curiosity.
About the clavichord recordings I feel differently, since even in their own
time they have not succeeded in gaining the recognition which I think they
merit. Nor indeed have I ever found an adequate way to present to the public
what in my lifetime as a performer has occupied me quite as fully as the harp-
sichord. The fact that the clavichord and good clavichord playing remain gen-
erally unknown almost inevitably precludes the playing back of my clavichord
records in the manner in which they were conceived. It is doubtful whether
anyone will ever again take the trouble to cultivate the fi nesses of technical
control that went into these performances. Furthermore, I think that in many
ways, they represent the innermost workings of my feelings as a musician.
KKirkpatrick.indd 74irkpatrick.indd 74 2/8/2017 9:57:24 AM 2 / 8 / 2017 9 : 57 : 24 AM
rick simeone
(Rick Simeone)
#1