What the Press say about Joan Lippincott

As you should know by now, we are celebrating the phenomenal Joan Lippincott this week! So today, we wanted to let you know what critics have to say about this legendary organist.

Concert Quotes:

“Most important perhaps, is her way with rhythm … the mighty Toccata in F had an irresistible and wonderfully humanizing swing about it.” - The New York Times

“Bach’s Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel Hoch displayed an uncommon level of technique, registrational imagination and musical understanding. Bach’s D-minor Toccata and Fugue … she played with the dazzling solidity and simplicity of the laws of the universe.” - Boston Globe

“A large audience gathered last night at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. … Ms. Lippincott rewarded them with a varied program, given with a mixture of consistently high musicianship and disciplined playing.” - The Evening Star

“Almost everything about Joan Lippincott`s organ recital proved first class ... The organist displayed a strong architectonic flair in both programming and performance, a penchant for detail and more than ample technical facility to realize her interpretative goals.” - The Los Angeles Times

2000 Bach Festival, First Congregational Church – “… a balanced wonder of rigorous freedom and grace – the great Bachian paradox of metaphysical abstractions given exuberant musical life.” - The Los Angeles Times

“She is an exacting musician, intense, positive, and forthright.” - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Ms. Lippincott’s dazzling recital was … the kind of performance a man is prompted to admiringly call ‘virile.’ The highlight of the afternoon was the performance of the Alain Trois Danses. Ms. Lippincott’s recital was an auspicious opening to the convention.” - Music

“Those who attended the recital can certainly verify why critics have acclaimed Ms. Lippincott as one of America’s outstanding organ virtuosos. The final number was the Prelude and Fugue on BACH of Liszt. It was a tour-de-force and superbly played.”
Worship and Music Notes

“She applied herself with exhilarating effect. … Her stirring performance of the Grande Pièce Symphonique brought the large audience to its feet.” - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Lippincott gave the great Toccata in F an extremely fluid touch and the lines sang. I heard new things in the music because of her way of playing it.” - Grand Rapids Press

Recording Review Quotes:

“…a recording of absolute musical success. Joan Lippincott never overwhelms with the sound of the organ, and the Camerata is a splendid musical group. This recording could convert even a person who thinks he does not care for Bach’s music, should such a benighted soul exist anywhere on the planet.” — The Diapason

"Joan Lippincott performs some familiar preludes and fugues by Bach on the Paul Fritts Organ at Notre Dame University. The organ is said to resemble the sort of organ on which Bach would have performed. Ms. Lippincott’s registration, while adhering to the notion that the preludes and fugues were to be played “full plenum” (full organ), are varied and tasteful and rarely overwhelm the music. Her interpretations are those of a seasoned player, and, even if one doesn’t agree with them, they are difficult to disrespect." - The Living Church

View the Joan Lippincott collection on the Gothic Catalog