John Kirkpatrick, American Music, and the Printed Page

A major contribution to understanding Kirkpatrick’s role in performing and editing American music. Adds significantly to the relatively sparse existing literature on Ruggles. The overall tone is accessible. ― MLA NOTES

WINNER OF THE 2014 VIRGIL THOMPSON AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING MUSIC CRITICISM, ASCAP FOUNDATION ― .

An engrossing, thought-provoking, and unusual book about a most unusual man. . . Delectable smorgasbord of biography, cultural and reception history, and philological review. [The chapter on Charles Ruggles’s Mood for violin and piano is] a tour de force of musicological inquiry. . . A fascinating and multilayered book about a man who truly made an incalculable difference, not only in Ives reception and studies, but also for the legacy of strong, ambitious, and dissonant . . . American classical music. MUSIC & LETTERS ― MUSIC & LETTERS

Massey conjures up atmospheres (e.g., Paris in the 1920s as experienced by young American musicians) ably and supplies interesting facts (such as that in 1928, Kirkpatrick was the first person to write an article about Aaron Copland). This book should be in the collection of every academic library. . . . One of the charms of Massey’s book is his respect for his subject and the flowery language he sometimes employs to convey his admiration. . . . Massey’s discussion of the respective positions of Elliott Carter and Kirkpatrick on the Ives controversy alone is worth the cost of the book. Anyone interested in the history of 20th-century American music and questions of priority will want to read this book. ― CRITICAL MARGINS

A substantial and provocative contribution to our understanding of Kirkpatrick as a man, performer, editor, and scholar. This book’s implications reach beyond the particular composers and works involved and will interest readers concerned with American music generally, as well as those interested in the history and practice of editing in the twentieth century. — — Tom C. Owens, editor of Selected Correspondence of Charles Ives