[CAUT] Fw: Margaret Hood: Nov 18, 1937-June 7, 2008

[Allen Wright]

Ed,

This is sad indeed.

Margaret was always extremely kind and generous to me in sharing her  
knowledge via e-mails and phone calls when I was learning to take  
care of the fortepiano collection at Oberlin. (Her book on fortepiano  
repair and regulation is highly recommended, btw). Reading her  
obituary, it's clear that she was a multi-faceted lady; I'm sorry  
that I didn't have the chance to meet her in person, or learn about  
her other talents and interests.

Allen Wright


On Jun 12, 2008, at 11:05 PM, Ed Sutton wrote:

> More sad news. ES
>
>> -------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
>> From: "C. E Hood" <hood at UWPLATT.EDU>
>> To: HPSCHD-L at listserv.albany.edu
>> Subject: Margaret Hood: Nov 18, 1937-June 7, 2008
>> Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:35:33 +0000
>>> List Members,
>>>   It is my unwelcome task to pass on the sad news that Margaret  
>>> has died. An
>>> obituary appears below.
>>>   Ellsworth
>>>
>>> MARGARET F. HOOD : Nov 19, 1937-June 7, 2008
>>>
>>>
>>> -MARGARET F. HOOD, fortepiano and harpsichord designer and maker,  
>>> died June 7,
>>> 2008. Margaret was born Nov. 19, 1937 in New York City and grew  
>>> up in Greenwich,
>>> Connecticut.  She graduated from The Greenwich Academy in 1954  
>>> and continued her
>>> education at Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts,  
>>> where she
>>> pursued her interests in philosophy, religion and art.  Upon  
>>> graduation from Mt.
>>> Holyoke in 1958, Margaret continued the pursuit of her  
>>> intellectual and academic
>>> interests at the Pacific School of Religion (PSR) in Berkeley,  
>>> California. Along
>>> with her academic work, Margaret did calligraphic and artifact  
>>> restoration work
>>> for the Bade Archaeological Museum at PSR. At graduation in 1961,  
>>> she was
>>> awarded a Danforth Fellowship at Duke University for the  
>>> following year.
>>>     Margaret's youthful love of horses remained with her  
>>> throughout her life.
>>> She developed her skills not only in riding but in training in  
>>> the English
>>> traditions of jumping, cross country and dressage. Boxes of  
>>> ribbons attest to
>>> the level of her success in horsemanship.
>>>     Margaret came from a family of painters and she continued the  
>>> tradition with
>>> an extensive repertoire of styles and techniques.  She added to  
>>> that tradition
>>> by applying her artistic talents and skills to the painting of
>>> historically-appropriate paintings and decorations on the lids  
>>> and soundboards
>>> of harpsichords.
>>>     In the 1970s, Margaret began a career as a builder of  
>>> historically-correct
>>> reproductions of early keyboard instruments: harpsichords,  
>>> clavichords and
>>> fortepianos. She was for a time an agent for Zuckerman  
>>> Harpsichords and then,
>>> after extensive research in Europe and the US, she founded her  
>>> own company,
>>> Margaret Hood Fortepianos [http://fortepianos.pair.com]. She  
>>> proceeded to build
>>> instruments of her own design, based on her research and analysis  
>>> of surviving
>>> original instruments and the written records from the time in  
>>> which the
>>> instruments were built. Her instruments and her scholarship have  
>>> earned her a
>>> national and international reputation as a builder of  
>>> exceptionally fine
>>> instruments, particularly reproductions of the pianos of Nannette  
>>> Streicher,
>>> whose instruments were highly praised by Beethoven and were his  
>>> preferred choice
>>> to play in performance. Margaret also earned national and  
>>> international
>>> recognition among Beethoven scholars and early music performers  
>>> for h!
>>>  er research and publications with regard to Beethoven and the  
>>> instruments of
>>> his time.  In addition, Margaret wrote and published two  
>>> technical manuals, one
>>> on repair and maintenance of harpsichords, and one on repair and  
>>> maintenance of
>>> fortepianos.
>>>     In addition to her professional interests, Margaret enjoyed  
>>> varied
>>> activities, such as camping and canoeing with her family,  
>>> gardening, abundant
>>> reading, debating politics, and socializing with the large circle  
>>> of friends
>>> drawn to her by her genuineness as a person, her energy,  
>>> intelligence, quick
>>> wit, and broad interests.
>>>     Margaret was united in marriage with C. Ellsworth Hood in  
>>> 1961.  She is
>>> survived by her husband, Ellsworth, her daughter, Vivian Andrea,  
>>> and her son,
>>> Thomas William. With her passing the world of music has suffered  
>>> a loss of
>>> immense proportions and her family a loss greater still.
>>>     A private memorial celebration of Margaret and her life will  
>>> be held by the
>>> family at a later date.
>>>
>

Allen Wright
London, UK

http://www.broadjam.com/akwright




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