Alfred Einstein
From Wikivisual
| Alfred Einstein | |
|---|---|
| 220px | |
| Born |
December 30, 1880 Munich, Germany |
| Died | February 13, 1952 (aged 71) |
| Alma mater | Munich University |
| Occupation | Musicologist |
Alfred Einstein (December 30, 1880 – February 13, 1952) was a German-American musicologist and music editor. He is best known for being the editor of the first major revision of the Köchel catalogue which was published in the year 1936. The Köchel catalogue is the extensive catalogue of the works of Mozart, and Einstein had such a depth of familiarity with Mozart that he had something pertinent to say about every piece Mozart wrote.
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[edit] Biography
Einstein was born in Munich. Though he originally studied law, he quickly realized his principal love was music, and he acquired a doctorate at Munich University, focusing on instrumental music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, in particular music for the viola da gamba. In 1918 he became the first editor of the Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft; slightly later he became music critic for the Münchner Post; and in 1927 became music critic for the Berliner Tageblatt. In this period he was also a friend of the composer Heinrich Kaspar Schmid in Munich and Augsburg. In 1933, after Hitler's rise to power, he left Nazi Germany, moving first to London, then to Italy, and finally to the United States in 1939, where he held a succession of teaching posts at universities including Smith College, Columbia University, Princeton University, the University of Michigan, and the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut.
Einstein not only researched and wrote detailed works on specific topics, but wrote popular histories of music, including the Short History of Music (1917), and Greatness in Music (1941). In particular, due to his depth of familiarity with Mozart, he published an important and extensive revision of the Köchel catalog of Mozart's music (1936). It is this work for which Einstein is most well known. <ref>Author: Einstein, Alfred, Published: New York: Oxford University Press, 1945 and 1962 (paperback) [1]</ref> Einstein also published a comprehensive, three-volume set The Italian Madrigal (1949) on the secular Italian form, the first detailed study of the subject. His 1945 volume Mozart: His Character, His Work was an influential study of Mozart and is perhaps his best known book.
[edit] Relationship to Albert Einstein
While one respected source (1980) lists Alfred as a cousin of the scientist Albert Einstein,<ref>Article "Alfred Einstein", in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2</ref> another one claims (1993) that no relationship has been verified.<ref>The Concise Edition of Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th ed. Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky. New York, Schirmer Books, 1993. ISBN 0-02-872416-X</ref> Some Web sites claim they were both descended from a Moyses Einstein seven generations back, hence they were sixth cousins.<ref>Descendants of Baruch Moyses Einstein at Family Tree Maker Online.</ref> Albert's daughter Eva maintains that they were not related.<ref>Catherine Dower: Alfred Einstein on music: selected music criticisms 1991 Page 22 "35 According to Eva Einstein, Alfred and Albert Einstein were not related. Alfred's name does not appear on the Albert Einstein family tree."</ref>
[edit] Bibliography
- Mozart: His Character. His work by Alfred Einstein <ref>Detail taken from a copy of the Cassell Publication (London) Mozart: His Character. His work which was translated by Arthur Mendel and Nathan Broder a third edition published in 1957</ref>
- Music in the Romantic Era: A History of Musical Thought in the 19th Century
- The Italian Madrigal, translated by Alexander H. Krappe, Roger H. Sessions, and Oliver Strunk, Princeton University Press, 1949 (3 volumes)
[edit] References
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