Jean and Kenneth Wentworth Collection

Jean and Kenneth Wentworth came from Chicago and Maine respectively to complete their musical education at the Juilliard School of Music, where they studied piano with Irwin Freundlich. The two married in 1949. Jean Wentworth appeared as a recitalist at Town Hall, Carnegie Hall, Kaufmann Auditorium and other venues throughout her career after winning the Walter M. Naumburg Award in 1954. Kenneth Wentworth maintained a career as a pianist, teacher, conductor, lecturer and artistic director at Sarah Lawrence College, where both Wentworths held faculty positions.

A Fulbright grant in 1964 brought the Wentworths to India where Kenneth Wentworth was a lecturer at the Calcutta School of Music and the University of Calcutta, and where the two played duo recitals in India and subsequently throughout the Middle East. The Wentworths gave Carnegie and Wigmore Hall recitals, toured Europe, and presented numerous concerts at Sarah Lawrence College.

As a duo piano team, the Wentworths focused primarily on repertoire for one piano, four hands, and their careers spanned nearly six decades. The Wentworths were devoted to standard repertoire and were also strong advocates of contemporary four hand music, introducing works by composers such as Robert Starer, André Singer, Lawrence Moss, William Sydeman, Vincent Persichetti and Charles Wuorinen. Their recordings include Mozart’s complete works for piano four hands, the Czerny Concerto for piano four hands, and several contemporary works.