[1][2][3] He was renowned for his "impeccable technique", "innate musicality", and his "rich tone",[4] with a "warm, sensuous quality that seldom loses its luster".
[6] His edition of Bach's Suites for solo cello, drawn upon facsimiles of the manuscript of Anna Magdalena Bach and showing them opposite each page, is recognized as one of his greatest achievements,[2] and was described as "the most important edition of the greatest music ever written for the instrument".
[8] His first American appearance as soloist[6] was in Dvořák's Cello Concerto with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini in 1945.
[6] He played several premieres of compositions dedicated to him, including Ernst Krenek's Suite for cello solo, Op.
He was the soloist in the first American performance of Khatchaturian's Cello Concerto, with Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1948.
[6] The edition, which features her manuscripts opposite each printed page,[4] has been considered Kurtz's "most important contribution to the development of the art of the cello".
[2] Mary Campbell wrote in her obituary for The Independent that it is "recognised as the most important edition of the greatest music ever written for the instrument".