Peter Knapp; wrote editorials, reviewed concerts for Ledger
During his 35 years as classical music critic for the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Peter M. Knapp reviewed countless operas, symphonies, and summer concerts.
He called Van Cliburn's Chopin "fussy and episodic." He dubbed the Handel and Haydn Society's "Messiah" a performance of "remarkable virtuosity, precision, and tonal beauty."
"He was just an amazing person. He really embraced life, languages, and music," said his daughter Merrill of Newington, Conn. "We grew up at Tanglewood."
Mr. Knapp, who also was the Ledger's editorial page editor from 1961 until his retirement in 1996, died Tuesday at his Pembroke home. He was 75 and wrote his last music review in December.
Mr. Knapp was diagnosed with lung cancer in January, according to family members. He smoked a pipe for many years but quit more than 20 years ago.
In addition to music, a thirst for knowledge about global affairs dominated Mr. Knapp's life as he sought to link Ledger readers to a global community.
In 1959, he began directing the Ledger's foreign correspondents' program to round out daily wire service reports with stories and analysis by freelance journalists living abroad. The program frequently brought visits to the Quincy newsroom by foreign exchange journalists.
Mr. Knapp grew up in Mystic, Conn., where his mother, Eleanor, filled Saturday afternoons with the sounds of opera recordings "whether we liked it or not," according to Mr. Knapp's sister, Deborah Adams of Manchester, Conn.
"We don't have a lot of money, but we sure got class," she said their mother would say.
Mr. Knapp's father worked for General Dynamics and later opened one of the first laundromats in Mystic.
"There wasn't ever any question of Peter going to work at the launderette," his sister said. "He was a real student."
He graduated from Robert E. Fitch High School in Groton, Conn., where he earned letters in football and track and was sports editor of the school paper. He graduated from Bates College in Maine in 1954, where he was editor of the college's weekly paper and associate editor of the yearbook.
Mr. Knapp studied piano and clarinet but never aspired to perform, according to his sister.
From 1954 to 1957, he served in the Army. He was assigned to the 430th Counter-Intelligence Corps in Salzburg, Austria, and later to Berlin, where he was features editor of the Berlin Observer, the weekly newspaper of the Berlin Command.
He also fell in love with a German woman in Berlin -- Christa Birnbaum, whom he met at a party, according to family members, who said they were "the perfect match for each other." Married for more than 50 years, the couple enjoyed a lifestyle of worldwide travel, opera, ballet, and fine food.
Mr. Knapp first joined the Ledger staff in 1957 as a reporter and worked as a night editor, copy editor, and assistant editor of the editorial page before becoming its editor. He won a 1973 Citation for Excellence from the Overseas Press Club of America "for perceptive treatment of foreign affairs in a series of editorials."
He was deeply concerned about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and took pride in invitations he received to attend the Strategy for Peace Conferences, sponsored by the Stanley Foundation of Muscatine, Iowa. The conferences, held in Virginia, drew more than 100 US and foreign diplomats, government officials, and peace advocates to discuss world problems and offer policy recommendations. He also was a member of the International Press Institute and attended assemblies on press freedom.
Fluent in German and French, Mr. Knapp traveled frequently in Europe during his writing career. He visited several Eastern European nations during the Cold War and wrote about his travels for the Ledger and The Boston Globe.
"You could always count on the facts being right in Peter's pieces," said Jon Lehman, who was Mr. Knapp's editor at the Ledger for more than three decades. "He was a succinct writer who always strove to give a very accurate sense of what a concert sounded like for the average readers."
An intensely hard-working newsman, he would shift into overdrive during the summer concert season, according to his son Andreas of Groton.
"After working almost a full day on Friday, he would drive out to Tanglewood, review a Friday night concert, Saturday concerts, and a Sunday afternoon concert," his son said. "We'd drive back and he'd be writing into the night on Sunday."
After he retired in 1996, Mr. Knapp continued to write reviews and, until a few years ago, a weekly column focusing on South Shore issues and personalities.
In addition to his daughter, sister, and wife, Mr. Knapp leaves another son, Triston P. of Bad Honnef, Germany, and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. July 21 in First Congregational Church in Hanover. 