Thurston Dart

Thurston Dart (born 3 September 1921 - died 6 March 1971), was a British musicologist, conductor and keyboard player. He is particularly remembered for his books in which he wrote about how music from earlier centuries should be performed.

Dart (1961)

Dart studied keyboard instruments at the Royal College of Music in London from 1938 to 1939, and also studied mathematics at University College, Exeter, graduating in 1942. He became a music lecturer and later professor at the University of Cambridge. During his time at Cambridge, Dart did a lot of work for the early music revival. Musicians were becoming interested in playing music from the Baroque, Renaissance and even Middle Ages. He formed such groups as the Early Music Consort of London. In 1964 he became King Edward Professor of Music in the University of London (King's College).

Thurston Dart played the harpsichord in many concerts and made several gramophone recordings. He wrote a book The Interpretation of Music (London, 1954), which became very widely read. He wrote many articles in journals about music.

Dart taught many students, included some who later became famous: the composer Michael Nyman, conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner and conductor/musicologist Christopher Hogwood. He was one of the first musicians to make a recording of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos using historical instruments.