Among the leading authorities worldwide on plucked string instruments from earlier eras, Hopkinson Smith stands out due to his profound understanding and interpretations involving the lute, theorbo, vihuela, along with earlier guitar forms. Consequently, numerous lutenists of the subsequent generation benefited from his instruction.
In his youth, classical guitar occupied his time until early music captured his interest, prompting self-directed study of the lute. Earning a musicology degree with distinction from Harvard University in 1972 equipped him effectively for investigating compositions intended for these ancient plucked tools. Lute instruction came from Emilio Pujol in Catalonia and Eugen Dombois in Switzerland; alongside this, collaboration with Jordi Savall, the viola da gamba player, led to establishing Hespèrion XX during the middle 1970s. A decade followed as part of that ensemble, during which his skills as a chamber player developed, complementing his individual performances nicely.
Solo repertoire took precedence from the middle 1980s onward, encompassing Renaissance-era dances and fantasias as well as pieces by Baroque figures including Kapsberger, the Gaultiers, Mouton, Sanz, and Weiss. Close to forty discs documenting such material appeared on Astrée and Naïve, starting in 1976 with La Réthorique des Dieux that presented Denis Gaultier's suites. Transcriptions he created of Bach's works for unaccompanied violin earned considerable praise upon release in 2000, joined by recordings of the composer's lute compositions. Francesco de Milano from 2008 represented another prize-winning effort.
Master classes take him across North and South America plus Europe, and until 2020 he instructed at Basel's Schola Cantorum in Switzerland, his residence. Among numerous pupils achieving independent success are Yasunori Imamura and Rolf Lislevand. Critics often highlight the refined skill and inherent warmth in his interpretations, which remain deliberately emotive across all styles. With singer Mariana Flores he produced lute songs for the 2019 album Dowland: Whose Heavenly Touch.
Post-retirement from academic roles, he persists in concerts and studio work, issuing Bright and Early in 2023—a collection of early sixteenth-century music from France and Italy.
