Igor Kipnis was born in 1930 in Berlin and died in 2002. He was a German-born American classical harpsichordist, fortepianist, pianist, conductor, and editor, best known for his work in early keyboard music. He was the son of the famous bass singer Alexander Kipnis.
Kipnis became one of the leading harpsichord performers of the 20th century. His repertoire focused strongly on Baroque and early classical music, especially works by J. S. Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Mozart, and Handel, but he also performed contemporary music and lighter harpsichord repertoire. Important recordings include The Virtuoso Scarlatti, Bach: Goldberg Variations, Bach: Harpsichord Partitas, Bach: Works for Harpsichord & Clavichord, A Treasury of Harpsichord Favorites, and Mozart on the 1793 Fortepiano.
He is known for helping to popularize the harpsichord as a serious solo concert instrument in the modern era. He made more than 100 recordings and received multiple Grammy nominations; the official Grammy artist page lists 6 nominations.