Kurt-Hans Goedicke passed away on August, 22.
After graduating at the Universitat der Kunste in Berlin, he joined the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra for a brief period of time. Since 1964 until his retirement in 2000, he was the timpanist for the London Symphony Orchestra. He was, also, the Head of the Percussion Department at the Royal Academy of Music, where I studied a postgraduate between 2002 and 2004 (at that time Neil Percy was already in charge).
I got several timpani lessons from him (my teacher was Simon Carrington, timpanist for the London Philharmonic), he taught us for the LRAM and he also taught me how to make timpani sticks.
I first met him at the end of 2001 during my audition. In that occasion he already showed what a gentleman he was; I, having never played on Ludwig timpani before, was very nervous, but he calmed me down and made the stagehands bring in a set of Premiers so I could play comfortably and stressless. Not only that… Because my marimba work required a five-octave instrument, when it was my time to play “Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum” all the panel moved to room 217, where the Malletech 5.0 belonging to the department was located (the auditions took place at the percussion studio in the bassement).
We did not start very well… Kurt did not like me writing on the parts. He called me apart and told me, with his heavy German accent and fine sarcasm, “that is like painting with numbers!”. I obeyed and stopped writing on them, which made me regain his confidence.
At the end of the first term I asked him to teach me how to make timpani sticks (at that time I could not spend money on them, as I had to pay the rent, food, fees…) and he generously devoted some of his time to teach me. I cannot thank him enough, as I have saved lots of money since then and now I can taylor my sticks to my specific needs and taste. Now, almost all the timpani sticks that I use I make them myself in that Kurt-style (as you know, heavily influenced by those by Sean Hooper).
Kurt was an institution, a totem respected by everyone, a beacon that shone both musically and personally. I invite you to investigate about his legacy because it is simply ASTONISHING.
He had an extraordinary personality: he never played at random and every single note had a purpose. Everything that he played had a profound meaning. His sound was majestic, larger than life and of exquisite elegance. He worked with the best conductors of the world and he treasured hundreds of stories and anecdotes. His fine sense of humor was second to none and he possesed a sharp irony.
He would neatly prepare for us files containing the parts that we were studying, his caligraphy was beautiful, he always dressed impeccably, he always took care of his appearance and used the most complex fragances.
I was lucky to live the end of an era, as my years in London coincided with Kurt´s last two at the Academy and, also, with Leigh Howard Stevens´. I can say that I was a witness of the end of a cycle in which two GIANTS (each one in his own field) retired when I graduated.
It was Kurt´s idea to use sets of Ludwig Professionals (like those in the photo) comprising the 32″, 32″, 29″ and 26″ sizes. Oversized bowls and large-headed sticks. For decades, timpanists in the UK followed the trend. Many of you already know one of my sets, which is exactly like the ones that Kurt used.
It seems like he greatly felt the death of his wife a few years ago. Sadly, he could not recover from two bad falls and died at 90.
A true LEGEND is gone.
May he rest in peace.
…et in Arcadia ego.
© David Valdés