Legacy of Harpsichord

At the time of Curtis’s founding, the harpsichord was just beginning to reemerge in popularity after a long period of obsolescence.

One of the individuals central to this rediscovery was renowned Polish harpsichordist Wanda Landowska, who came to Curtis in 1925 as an original member of the faculty. Her special series of courses in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music at Curtis was unprecedented. A perfectionist, she had two of her students from New York ride the train with her to Philadelphia so she could practice her lectures and make sure her English was correct.

Landowska left Curtis after three years to live in France full time, but returned to the U.S. on occasion during the thirteen years before she emigrated to New York during World War II. She was evidently a tough act to follow. After her departure, Curtis did not offer harpsichord instruction again until 1989, when esteemed Chilean harpsichordist Lionel Party joined the faculty. Party remained at Curtis until 2011, and was succeeded by distinguished South African harpsichordist Leon Schelhase.

Faculty Timeline

  • Wanda Landowska
    Wanda Landowska
    Harpsichord — 1925-28
  • Lionel Party
    Lionel Party
    Harpsichord — 1989-11
  • Leon Schelhase
    Leon Schelhase
    Harpsichord — 2012-Present
Landowska and students
  • Wanda Landowska with her musical studies class circa 1927 in what is today the Common Room at 1726 Locust Street.
1996
First Harpsichord Alum

Paolo Bordignon

6
Total Harpsichord Alumni

How many names do you recognize on this list of Curtis harpsichord alumni? View list

4
Harpsichords

There are up to 4 harpsichords on Curtis's campus.

Noted Harpsichord Alumni

Lionel Party

Faculty ‘88–’11

Lionel Party

Harpsichordist, music educator, and spinet player, Party helped define a new chapter of historic performance practice during the past four decades. Beyond educating generations of musicians at Juilliard and Curtis, he has opened early music to new audiences, from the youngest listeners who come to hear and see the working of a harpsichord in his community concerts to solo performances of rediscovered repertoire with some of the world’s leading ensembles.
Paolo Bordignon

Organ ‘96

Paolo Bordignon

A student of John Weaver on organ and Lionel Party on harpsichord at both Curtis and Juilliard, Bordignon has distinguished himself as a multi-instrumentalist. The harpsichordist of the New York Philharmonic, he also appears regularly as a continuo artist and conductor with the world’s major early music ensembles, and has collaborated with soloists from Midori to Bobby McFerrin. His solo appearance in Philip Glass’s Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra opened Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in 2003.
Catalina Vicens

Harpsichord ‘06

Catalina Vicens

Vicens’s dynamism and approach to historically informed performance and research has made her one of the most versatile and sought-after historical keyboard performers and teachers of her generation. She was recently named curator of the Tagliavini Collection in Italy, one of the largest historical keyboard collections in Europe, and artistic director of Museo San Colombano in Bologna. She returns occasionally to Curtis as a guest master class instructor.
Leon Schelhase at the harpsichord

Faculty ‘12–present

Leon Schelhase

Schelhase resonated with Baroque music from an early age and went on to study early keyboards at the University of Cape Town and Boston University. His Philadelphia-based concert series, Ravensong, presents international specialists of historic stringed keyboard instruments in uniquely curated intimate spaces, including churches and the Hill-Physick House.

Legacy of Curtis

Leading to its centennial year, Curtis began a multi-year project celebrating each of the school’s major areas of study.

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