美国古钢琴家、钢琴家。1911年6月10日生于利奥明斯特；1984年卒。他6岁以前学钢琴，后来改学羽管键琴。1930年他在哈佛大学攻读艺术学士，1931年获佩恩奖学金到欧洲留学，1931-1932年在巴黎国立图书馆从事研究工作并师从兰多夫斯卡学羽管键琴，从布朗热学理论作曲。1933年到柏林演奏戈尔德堡变奏曲获得成功，接着在欧洲和南美各国举行羽管键琴演奏会。 　　  　　拉尔夫·柯克帕特里克擅长的曲目包含全部巴赫的键盘乐曲和大量斯卡拉蒂奏鸣曲以及法国18世纪古钢琴曲。同时，他在钢琴上演奏莫扎特的作品也是脍炙人口，曾经录制了用羽管键琴的击弦古钢琴演奏巴赫的全部键盘乐曲和他选编的斯卡拉蒂60首奏鸣曲等唱片。 　　  　　拉尔夫·柯克帕特里克的演奏特点是：技巧完美、节奏生动、风格纯正，也许是为了反对老一辈古钢琴家在演奏风格上过多的浪漫气氛，他在演奏中有时给人以学院派的过于干涩的感觉；1953年在伦敦出版了《斯卡拉蒂》一书，附有音乐分析和作品创作年代，并编定出版了巴赫戈尔德堡变奏曲和斯卡拉蒂奏鸣曲全集。1933-1934年在萨尔斯堡莫扎特学院任教，1940年在耶鲁大学教羽管键琴。1965年升为教授。 　　  　　Ralph Kirkpatrick (June 10, 1911 – April 13, 1984) was an American musician, musicologist and harpsichordist. He is most famous for his chronological catalog of Domenico Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas. 　　  　　Kirkpatrick was born in Leominster, Massachusetts. He studied Art History at Harvard University and went on to further studies with Nadia Boulanger and harpsichord revival pioneer Wanda Landowska in Paris, as well as Arnold Dolmetsch in Haslemere, Heinz Tiessen in Berlin and Günther Ramin in Leipzig. From 1933 to 1934, he taught at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. A Guggenheim Scholarship later enabled him to study manuscripts and sources in Europe. 　　  　　From 1940 he was a professor at Yale University, where he published his biography of Domenico Scarlatti and a critical edition of Scarlatti's complete works (1953). These are now conventionally designated by their Kirkpatrick numbers (shown as Kk. --, and more recently with a single K.), which is now considered the standard, authoritative numbering system for Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas (despite at least two rival systems) (see opus number). 　　  　　During the 1960s Kirkpatrick made recordings of the complete harpsichord works of Johann Sebastian Bach (Archiv). The instrument he used in these recordings was always one or other of the contemporary harpsichords being made at the time by the firm of JC Neupert of Bamberg. These days such instruments are called "revival" style instruments, their features including inauthentic metal frames and robust, heavy construction. These recordings show Kirkpatrick's formidable keyboard technique to full advantage, and, unusually for recordings of the time, he observes almost all of the repeats. His performances of The Well-Tempered Clavier were recorded on both the harpsichord and the clavichord. His later Bach recordings used a reproduction French harpsichord by Hubbard & Dowd. 　　  　　He produced an edition of Bach's Goldberg Variations (1938, G. Schirmer, Inc. New York - 37149) which includes extensive discussion of ornamentation, fingering, phrasing, tempo, dynamics, and general interpretation. He also authored the posthumously published Interpreting Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: A Performer's Discourse. 　　  　　Kirkpatrick also played modern music, including Quincy Porter's Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra, Darius Milhaud's Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord, and the Double Concerto for Harpsichord, Piano and Chamber Orchestra by Elliott Carter, which was dedicated to him. 　　  　　As a performer and recording artist, he became best known for his harpsichord performances of the keyboard music of Bach and Scarlatti. He also recorded on the clavichord (e.g. Bach's two- and three-part inventions, as well as both volumes of The Well-Tempered Clavier) and on the fortepiano (especially works by Mozart). He recalled playing a clavichord at a house concert in Hamburg, Germany. 　　  　　Kirkpatrick died in Guilford, Connecticut at the age of 72. 　　  　　On April 2, 1999, the asteroid 9902 Kirkpatrick was named in his honor.