Former student Bill Lutes remembers Howard Karp

Bill Lutes, a former student who became a colleague and close friend of Howard Karp, writes:

He was an incredible listener to sound: the balance of textures and ways of orchestrating chords and counterpoint so that everything was heard in perfect proportion. He was a master of the art of pedaling. He was a detail man, and insisted on attention not only to each note in its place, but that the spirit and soul of the music shone in every moment. He would often say, ‘Make it special’ or ‘more special’ and would refer to the magic of a particular passage. You knew what he meant: the greatest music demanded infinite care and imagination and love and respect for the composer’s text, and an understanding of his world.

In lessons, he loved to reminisce about the great ones he had been privileged to hear, growing up as a boy in Chicago. He remembered (and in many cases also preserved) programs by Horowitz, Rubinstein, Rachmaninoff, Kapell, and so many of the giants of the past. But he also remembered his students, their special qualities, and kept in touch with so many of us over the years. And he had a great playful streak, and could be very funny, with his imitation of Horowitz’s thick Russian accent, and his mastery of Brooklyn-ese. Working with me on a tricky light-as-feather cross-hand passage in a Schubert sonata, he would chirp ‘little elf’ in time with the dotted rhythm in the music, and I still hear that passage with his voice to this day.

He was a tremendously hard worker himself, and expected his students to strive, to really demand excellence to always go above and beyond, and always with the most challenging repertoire.

Howard in his prime was an utterly astonishing, fearless pianist. In his playing the Dionysian and Apollonian qualities of wildness and abandon on the one hand, and perfect balance and sublime beauty and discipline on the other, were in perfect balance. He was a great teacher, a wonderful mentor and a cherished friend – and a really magnificent and unique musician.