John Phillips is an imposing giant of a man -- a master craftsman and amateur musician -- with an unusual creative streak. He makes harpsichords modeled on French, Flemish and Italian instruments from ...

The harpsichord was eclipsed first by the fortepiano in the 18th century and eventually by the modern grand, but that doesn't mean the instrument is out of sight or out of mind. In his new work, ...

Mahan Esfahani says the harpsichord is as relevant today as it was when Bach and Vivaldi were playing it, and his interview with NPR's Robert Siegel this past June left no doubt. It's not every day ...

The harpsichord went out when the piano came in. Nobody at the time seemed very sorry: the piano was easier to play, its notes carried further, and it had greater range of tone. But the harpsichord ...

To Germans, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is a jealously guarded possession, and judgments of any new Bach performer are sharply critical, especially if the performer is a foreigner. But last ...

William Dowd always remembered the first moment he pressed the keys of an old harpsichord while he was studying at Harvard after World War II. The music rose into the room. "I was thrilled by it," he ...

What would Johann Sebastian Bach make of a goat rodeo? There can be little doubt that the greatest composer ever would have been unfazed hearing his music played by a trio of cello, mandolin and bass, ...