Philip Kennicott is the chief Art and Architecture Critic of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
.''
Education
Kennicott was raised in
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
, where he studied piano with composer and pianist
Joseph Fennimore. In 1983, he attended
Deep Springs College
Deep Springs College (known simply as Deep Springs or DS) is a private, selective two-year college in Deep Springs, California. With the number of undergraduates restricted to 26, the college is one of the smallest institutions of higher educat ...
, before transferring to
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
in 1986. Kennicott graduated summa cum laude with a degree in philosophy in 1988.
Career
Kennicott is the author of ''Counterpoint: A Memoir of Bach and Mourning'' (
Norton Norton may refer to:
Places
Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada
* Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan
*Norton Parish, New Brunswick
**Norton, New Brunswick, a ...
2020). Kennicott won the 2013
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer in the United States who has demonstrated 'distinguished criticism'. Recipients of the award are chosen by an independent board and officially administered by C ...
.
He had twice been a Pulitzer Prize finalist before: in 2012, he was a runner-up for the criticism prize, and in 2000, he was also a finalist for the
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing
The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Journalism. It has been awarded since 1917 for distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, ...
for a series on
gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.
Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
in the ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...
''. In 2015, he was a
National Magazine Award
The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
finalist in the Essays and Criticism category for an essay he contributed to ''
Virginia Quarterly Review
The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussion"'' ...
''; that piece, "Smuggler,"
was also selected for the 2015 volume Best American Essays. In 2006, he was an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominee for a Web-based video journal about democracy and oil money in Azerbaijan.
Kennicott served as an editor of several classical music publications in New York City from 1988–95, including Senior Editor of Musical America and Editor of ''Chamber Music Magazine''. He became classical music critic of the ''
Detroit News
''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...
'' in 1995, and later Chief Classical Music Critic of the ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...
''. In 1999, he joined the ''Washington Post'' as Chief Classical Music Critic, before becoming Culture Critic in 2001, and Art and Architecture Critic in 2011. Kennicott is also a former contributing editor at ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'', where he wrote articles on classical music, and has served as a reviewer and columnist for ''
Gramophone''.
Kennicott's critically acclaimed first book, ''Counterpoint: A Memoir of Bach and Mourning'', was praised by the ''
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' as "a book full of arresting insights about the way music permeates our lives, as well as heartbreaking reflections on the wounds a parent can inflict on a child." He has also contributed introductions to Richard Giannone's ''Music in Willa Cather's Fiction'' and Renato Mirraco's ''Oscar Wilde's Italian Dream 1875-1900.''
Kennicott is a frequent participant in national and international symposia, including the Aspen Ideas Festival, the
CATO Institute
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...
, and the World Justice Forum IV
[http://worldjusticeproject.org/world-justice-forum-iv/agenda/speaker/philip-kennicott . World Justice Forum IV.] in the Hague.
References
External links
*
Kennicottat ''The Washington Post''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennicott, Philip
Living people
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American art critics
American music critics
American architecture critics
American male journalists
Deep Springs College alumni
American newspaper reporters and correspondents
Journalists from Washington, D.C.
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism winners
The Washington Post people
Writers from Schenectady, New York
Journalists from New York (state)
20th-century American male writers
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American male writers