Born in Montreal, Quebec, on December 16, 1931, Canadian harpsichordist and organist Kenneth Gilbert began learning the piano at the age of four. He studied at the conservatory with Yvonne Hubert and Gabriel Cusson, and in 1953 won the Prix d'Europe from the Académie de musique de Québec. After advanced studies in Paris with Gaston Litaize, Ruggiero Gerlin, Maurice Duruflé and Nadia Boulanger, and private lessons with Wanda Landowska, he gave organ recitals in the Montreal church and recorded for Radio-Canada before being signed by Baroque Records, for whom he produced albums devoted to the Baroque organ(Organ Baroque Masters, 1964). He then turned his attention to the harpsichord, recording the complete works of François Couperin and programs dedicated to Bach, Rameau, Purcell, Froberger, D'Anglebert, Scarlatti, Soler and Lully. He regularly collaborates with flutists Mario Duschesnes and Jean-Pierre Rampal, violinist Steven Svaryk and oboist Jacques Simard. Between 1981 and 1985, Kenneth Gilbert compiled an anthology of the Livre d'orgue de Montréal, recorded at McGill University. A teacher and organ historian, he is involved in restoration work with musicologist Élisabeth Gallat-Morin. Distinguished by many awards and honors, including Officer of the Order of Canada (1986) and Officier des Arts et des Lettres in France, Kenneth Gilbert died in Quebec City on April 16, 2020, at the age of 88.
