Edward (Leon) Kottick is a retired musicology professor at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in Iowa City.

Biography

Kottick gives the outline facts of his life on his website:

"I was born in Jersey City, NJ, in 1930, and was brought up in Brooklyn, NY, where I studied the trombone. I later became a music major at
NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...
. Following two years in the army, where I conducted a band, I went to New Orleans, LA, to play in the symphony; but after a few years of that I decided to go to graduate school at
Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...
, where I was introduced to musicology and renaissance music. The combination made a deep impression on me, and after my MA I went to the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...
for my PhD. (It was there that I saw my first kit harpsichord.) I continued to play the trombone, which helped me support my wife and two daughters, but by this time I had become a dedicated musicologist. After a series of teaching posts around the midwest I ended up at the University of Iowa, where I have happily remained ever since. I ran the
collegium musicum The Collegium Musicum was one of several types of musical societies that arose in Germany, German and German-Switzerland, Swiss cities and towns during the Protestant Reformation, Reformation and thrived into the mid-18th century. Generally, whil ...
at Iowa for many years, and also played
recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...
in a baroque trio ensemble. I retired from teaching in 1992."

In his years since retiring, Kottick has been active as a scholar and as a harpsichord builder. He has also served as an agent for the

Zuckermann Zuckermann or Zuckerman is a Yiddish or German surname meaning "sugar man". Zuckermann * Ariel Zuckermann (born 1973), Israeli conductor * Benedict Zuckermann (1818–1891), German scientist * Ghil'ad Zuckermann (born 1971), Israeli/Italian/Briti ...

harpsichord firm.

Harpsichord scholarship

Kottick is the author of three books about the harpsichord. *''The Harpsichord Owner's Guide: A Manual for Buyers and Owners'' (1987) *''Early Keyboard Instruments in European Museums'', (1997) coauthored with George Lucktenberg *''A History of the Harpsichord'' (2003) Kottick's journal publications include work on harpsichord acoustics.

Honors

In 2006 received the Curt Sachs Award from the

American Musical Instrument Society The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) was formed in 1971 "to promote study of the history, design, and use of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods" (the branch of musicology known as organology). Based in the United Sta ...

, noting his "distinguished work as a scholar, author, lecturer, builder, and designer."Source: AMIS website

department web site at Iowa:

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Bibliography

*(1967, ed.) ''The unica in the Chansonnier cordiforme (Paris, Bibliothéque nationale, Rothschild 2973)''.

American Institute of Musicology The American Institute of Musicology (AIM) is a musicological organization that researches, promotes and produces publications on early music. Founded in 1944 by Armen Carapetyan, the AIM's chief objective is the publication of modern editio ...

. *(1974) ''Tone and intonation on the recorder''. New York : McGinnis & Marx. *(1977) ''The collegium: a handbook. ''Stonington, Conn. : October House, c1977. *(1987) ''The harpsichord owner's guide : a manual for buyers and owners''. Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press. *(1997) Edward Kottick and George Lucktenberg, ''Early keyboard instruments in European museums''. Bloomington, Ind. : Indiana University Press. *(2003) ''A history of the harpsichord''. Bloomington, Ind. : Indiana University Press. For a listing of journal articles se

External links

*Edward Kottick's web site:

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kottick, Edward Harpsichord makers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)