Joan Benson
| Joan Benson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born |
October 9, 1925 St. Paul, Minnesota, United States |
| Genres | Renaissance, Viennese Classic, Contemporary[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Keyboard player, teacher, writer |
| Instruments | Clavichord, fortepiano |
| Years active | 1962– |
| Website | Joan Benson: Early and Modern Piano |
Joan Benson, born October 9, 1925, in Saint Paul in the U.S. state of Minnesota, is an American keyboard player specializing in the clavichord and fortepiano.[1] Educated at the University of Illinois (B.Mus., M.Mus. 1951) and Indiana University (1953), she received instruction in Europe from Edwin Fischer, Guido Agosti, Olivier Messiaen, Viola Thern, Fritz Neumeyer, Ruggero Gerlin, and Macario Santiago Kastner before returning to the United States in 1960 to pursue dual careers as a concert keyboardist and university professor.[1][2]
She debuted on the clavichord at the Carmel Bach Festival in 1963[1] and went on to perform at many concerts in the United States, Europe, and the Far East.[2] From 1968 through 1976, she taught at Stanford University until joining the faculty at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where she taught through 1987.[2] In 1980, she also joined the faculty of the Aston Magna Music Festival in Massachusetts.[1] Among her varied interests is Buddhist meditation.[1] She has been credited with helping to revive interest in the fortepiano and the work of C. P. E. Bach.[1]
Recordings
 |
Freie Fantasie
 By Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in F sharp minor. Transcription of a clavichord record by Joan Benson (Bridge S 2250) Rondo in C (3:54)
Transcription of a clavichord record, by Joan Benson (Bridge S 2250). It was a "recommended recording of the year" (1973) by the Saturday Review. This recording is on clavichords by Thomas Goff of England and Jacobus Verwolf of the Netherlands. The music was composed by Dietrich Ewald von Grotthuss (1751–1786) |
| Problems playing these files? See media help. | |
- Joan Benson, Clavichord (Repertoire Records, LP, 1962)[3] and The Clavichord (Focus, CD, 1993)[4]
- Music of C. P. E. Bach (Orion, LP, 1976); Joan Benson playing a 1795 John Broadwood fortepiano in the first three works or a 1970 J. Verwolf clavichord in the remainder[5]
- Works of Haydn and Pasquini (Titanic, LP, 1982)[6]
- Clavichord Music of Johann Kuhnau and C. P. E. Bach (Early Music Institute, Indiana University School of Music, cassette, 1987)[7] and The Clavichord: Music of Johann Kuhnau and C. P. E. Bach: 18th Century (Focus Distribution Group, CD, 1996)[8]
Publications
Books
- Clavichord for Beginners (2014)[9]
Additional articles and presentations
- "The Use of the Clavichord in Haydn's Music", 250th Haydn Congress (1983)[10]
- "Haydn and the Clavichord", International Joseph Haydn Congress, Vienna (1982) and Munich (1986)[10]
- "The Clavichord in 20th-Century America", Gulbenkian Foundation (1989)[10]
- "Bach and the Clavier", Clavier XXIX:2 (February 1990), pp. 25–29[10]
- "The Clavichord in 20th-Century America", in Livro de Homenagem a Macario Santiago Kastner (Lisbon 1992)[10]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Schott, Howard. "Benson, Joan". Grove Music Online; Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. (subscription required (help)).
- 1 2 3 Joan Benson. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians: Biography in Context (New York: Schirmer). 2001. (subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "Joan Benson, Clavichord". WorldCat. OCLC 16959600. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ↑ "The Clavichord". WorldCat. ISBN 9780253388810. OCLC 30527009. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Music of C. P. E. Bach". Orion. 1976. OCLC 3531828. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Works of Haydn and Pasquini". Cambridge, Massachusetts: Titanic Records. 1982. OCLC 8970132. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Clavichord Music of Johann Kuhnau and C. P. E. Bach". WorldCat. ISBN 9780253388810. OCLC 20440485. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ↑ "The Clavichord: Music of Johann Kuhnau and C. P. E. Bach: 18th Century". AllMusic. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ↑ Benson, Joan (2014). "Clavichord for Beginners". Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-01164-0. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Knights, Francis (March 1995). "The Clavichord: A Comprehensive Bibliography". The Galpin Society Journal 48: 52–67. doi:10.2307/842803. Retrieved February 7, 2015. (subscription required (help)).
External links
Media related to Joan Benson at Wikimedia Commons