Named for Ralph Kirkpatrick (1911–1984), eminent American harpsichordist, clavichordist, musicologist and teacher. He traveled extensively in Europe, where he studied seventeenth-century and eighteenth-century performance practices in chamber music. He wrote a biography of Domenico Scarlatti {see planet  (6480)} and prepared a facsimile edition of his more than 500 sonatas. He gave many concerts, specializing in the performance of works by Scarlatti and J. S. Bach {see planet  (1814)}. (M 34356) _ _.