‘Succinct, lucid, never prurient’, writes Richard Fairman, ‘Kilpatrick’s biography of Maurice Ravel is surely the kind of which the composer himself might have approved. This most private of men presented an elegant and meticulous persona in his music and Kilpatrick has responded with an account of his life that is comparably discerning.’ This follows a 5* review of the book in the BBC Music Magazine that noted, ‘a composer biography can often be a self-regarding vehicle for the author’s agenda, rather than a genuine portrait of its subject. Emily Kilpatrick’s study is the engaging and perceptive opposite...As likeable as, you sense, the composer himself was.’
Dr Robert Sholl’s edited volume Messiaen in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2023) achieved an honourable mention for the Royal Musical Association (RMA) Edited Collection Book Prize 2025. This annual prize recognises outstanding edited collections in the field of musicological practice, which can be considered as significantly shaping or making a distinctive contribution to their field of study. Of Messiaen in Context, the RMA panel remarked that ‘this wide-ranging collection makes a significant contribution to the field of Messiaen and twentieth-century French music scholarship in offering fresh insights alongside new research. This authoritative study will be a key source for years to come.’
Linked to this area of research, Robert also published the 2024 monograph Olivier Messiaen: A Critical Biography, which was awarded a Certificate of Merit in the 2025 Association for Recorded Sound Collections’ Awards for Excellence, in the category Best Historical Research in Recorded Classical Music.
Image credit: Cambridge University Press and Reaktion Books