John Kitchen

John Philip Kitchen MBE (born 27 October 1950) is a Scottish organist, harpsichordist, pianist, conductor, early music scholar, and music educator based in Edinburgh. He serves as the Edinburgh City Organist. Kitchen is known for his extensive recording portfolio of organ music, and his research and demonstration of historical keyboard instruments. He made major contributions to the discography and scholarship on the organ works of William Russell, and Johann Ludwig Krebs.

Current positions Kitchen is the Director of Music of Old Saint Paul's Episcopal Church. and teaches harpsichord at St Mary's Music School, Edinburgh. He is also the Edinburgh City Organist, with related duties at Usher Hall, and the University Organist at the University of Edinburgh. For 30 years conducted the Edinburgh University Singers, retiring in 2018. He is also involved with the preservation, expansion and demonstration to the public of the collection of early keyboard instruments at St Cecilia's Hall in Edinburgh. He was appointed MBE in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Education and professional history Kitchen had piano lessons from the age of 6, and started teaching himself the organ at around 8 when he was accompanying his local Sunday School. He earned the Master of Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees at Glasgow University, and earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the University of Cambridge where he researched 17th-century French harpsichord music. His doctoral thesis (approved 1980) was titled "Harpsichord music of seventeenth century France: the forms, their origins and developments, with particular emphasis on the work of Louis Couperin (1626–1661)". While at Cambridge, he was organ scholar of Clare College, and studied the organ with Gillian Weir. He is a member of the Baroque ensemble Laudonia.

Scholarship Kitchen has studied and recorded the complete Organ Voluntaries of the organist William Russell (1777–1813) on the Delphian Label. The recording took place in 2008 on the restored 1829 J.C. Bishop organ at St. James, Bermondsey. As part of this project, Kitchen authored a detailed essay about Russell and his music, with information about every single Voluntary (including the disposition of the organ and the registration of the Voluntary)

Kitchen has studied and recorded the complete organ works of Baroque composer Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713–1780). These recordings (on the Priory Records label) were made in 2000–2001 on several different organs, including the two-manual Frobenius organ of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh.

Kitchen has published multiple reviews of recordings, studies and organ manuals in the journals Early Music, Early Music Today, Choir & Organ, Organists' Review, and The Organ Yearbook,

Kitchen recorded recitals that introduce and explore different organs, including the organ at Usher Hall (Edinburgh); the organ at McEwan Hall (University of Edinburgh); the Reid Concert Hall (University of Edinburgh); the 1769 Pascal Taskin harpsichord; and instruments from the Rodger Mirrey and Raymond Russell collections.

Selected discography Krebs Complete Organ Works / John Kitchen; Priory Records PRCDBOX400 / PRCD734-739; 2010. Music from the age of Louis XV: John Kitchen plays the 1769 Taskin Harpsichord; Delphian DCD 34112; 2012. Instruments of the Russell Collection, Volume 1; Delphian DCD 34001; ASIN: B00005LVXO; 2006. The Grand Tour: Laudonia with Susan Hamilton; Laudonia SCIO, SKU: 9006807000015