Researcher: Dr. William Bedford Clark

As pianist and teacher, Herbert Ricker was a significant force in the cultural life of the Southwest in the middle-third of the twentieth century. He could trace his musical pedigree back to Beethoven through a series of renowned artist/teachers and was himself a gifted composer. This project aims at preserving the complete body of his extant work. Privileged to have studied with him as a young man, I naturally had a personal interest in making these scores available to present and future generations, but the quality of the music itself justifies preservation and wider dissemination.

There are six Intermediate-level instructional pieces that combine charm with sophisticated harmonic and technical elements, and Ricker's most ambitious piece, Sonatine (in reality a full-fledged sonata), was performed publically by the noted Czech pianist Rudolf Firkusny and highly regarded by a number of influential contemporaries. It clearly warrants revival. Scholars of local and regional history and the interplay between "provincial" and elite cultures should likewise find this archive valuable, an invitation to future research into the cross-pollination between the vital, if often overlooked, arts scene in the American heartland and coastal "high" culture.