Kenneth Gilbert (1931–) is a Canadian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist, and teacher. He has taught at a number of universities and conservatories in Canada, the United States, and Europe; has concertized widely, and has made many recordings. He is the editor of a highly regarded edition of the complete harpsichord sonatas of François Couperin, and he also edited the 555 harpsichord sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti. Gilbert communicated with RK about the Scarlatti edition, and they exchanged a number of detailed letters about it. RK indicated that he was ready to help Gilbert in any way he could, including providing microfilm of manuscripts. Gilbert acknowledged RK's help in the preface to his edition.

November 10, 1969

Dear Kenneth,

Before you embark on the Scarlatti, there are a few things I think you should know.

1. That if you work as carefully as with Couperin, my blessing is with you. That my appalling pre-posthumous sense of having failed to do the job myself will be compensated by seeing that it has been well done.

2. That you are welcome to any advice or comment you may wish to ask, to print from my microfilms of the sources (I have them all), and (if you feel that you want it) to some kind of brief general introduction.

3. That in our conversations I withheld a bit of information that I now feel you must have, but IN THE STRICTEST CONFIDENCE, even for the moment in relation to your publisher. I am telling you in order to spare you the eventuality of months of subsequently superseded work in establishing a “definitive” text. A year ago, I was informed by an eminent American musicologist that new sources have been discovered in Spain. My informant wished to spare me unnecessary work, but as he himself was violating confidence, he could not be asked to divulge the source of his information or to tell me more than he felt justified in volunteering.