|
Born: June 14, 1933 - Pulaski, Virginia, USA
Died: August 6, 2016 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
|
American harpsichordist and organist, Temple Painter, attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, graduating with organ degree in 1956.
Temple Painter performed as solo organist with members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Lincoln Center under Hermann Scherchen, as harpsichord soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy, and as solo harpsichordist for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He performed as solo pianist, harpsichordist and organist with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and concertized extensively in the USA, Europe and Israel. During the 1960's and 1970's, HIS repertoire included 30 concertos and countless solo works, often improvising in Baroque-era works in which the keyboard sections - the foundations of the piece - were not written down.
Temple Painter was for 40 years the permanent harpsichordist for the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, then called the Concerto Besides of which he was a founding member, playing Baroque repertoire. He premiered and championed Boatrite, commissioning his Harpsichord Concerto. For 45 years (until 2002), he was the organist at Congregation Adath Jeshurun, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Additionally, he was Associate Professor of Music at Haverford College for 13 years (1969-1982), and was Lecturer in Music at both Immaculata University and Temple University.
Temple Painter's 1962 critically acclaimed recording "Temple Painter-Harpsichord Recital" on the Artia-Parliament label was cited by the New York Times in 1964 as "the most satisfying" of the five harpsichord recordings reviewed that year. He also recorded the American composer Harold Boatrite'a Sonatas and Suites, which finds him doing double duty on harpsichord and piano. He can be heard as harpsichord soloist and continuo player in "Gloria! Gloria!" and in George Frideric Handel's Roman Vespers recorded by the Philadelphia Singers and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia on RCA Red Seal Records. Recent years have found him concentrating on the keyboard works of J.S. Bach, recording the Two-Part Inventions (BWV 772-786) & Three-Part Inventions (Sinfonias) (BWV 787-801), and helping fellow keyboardist Theodore Hendricks-Verdejo prepare for a recital of the Goldberg Variations (BWV 988). At the time of his death, he had still been working on a recording of the Two-Part and Three-Part Inventions that was left unfinished.
Temple Painter was the recipient of several honors and awards including the Martha Baird Rockefeller Grant and an honorary Doctorate from the Combs College of Music. In addition, he was a National Arts Associate of the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity. He wound down his activities in recent years, playing his last performance in 2004 with Chamber Orchestra. He died at Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia on August 6, 2016, aged 83. |
