Edward Elias Lowinsky (January 12, 1908 – October 11, 1985) was an American

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

. Lowinsky was one of the most prominent and influential musicologists in post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

America. His 1946 work on the "secret chromatic art" of Renaissance motets was hotly debated in its time, spurring considerable research into the issues of ''

musica ficta ''Musica ficta'' (from Latin, "false", "feigned", or "fictitious" music) was a term used in European music theory from the late 12th century to about 1600 to describe pitches, whether notated or added at the time of performance, that lie outside ...

'' and

performance practice Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of the musical era in whic ...

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

Life

He was born in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to Leopold L. and Clara Rosenfeld. Lowinsky studied piano, composition, and conducting in Stuttgart at the Hochschule für Musik, 1923-28. In 1933, he obtained his Ph.D. from the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, studying under

Heinrich Besseler Heinrich Besseler (April 2, 1900 – July 25, 1969) was a German musicologist born in Hörde. He is particularly known for his colossal work, ''Die Musik des Mittelalters und der Renaissance'' (1931), which provided a new perspective on historical m ...

. His dissertation was on

Orlando di Lasso Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palest ...

. He lived in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from 1933 to 1939, and in 1940 emigrated to the United States. In 1947 he became a

United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

. He taught at

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The college was ideologically organized around John Dewey's educational ...

(1942–47),

Queens College, New York Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

(1947-56), and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

(1956–61). From 1961 he taught at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He was the editor of the ''Monuments of Renaissance Music'' series from 1964 to 1977, and chaired the 1971 conference on

Josquin des Prez Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...

. He did significant work preparing editions of Renaissance composers and was a major figure in redefining standards for critical editions of musical manuscripts. Most of his published articles were collected into the massive two-volume ''Music in the Culture of the Renaissance'' (1989), edited by his second wife, musicologist

Bonnie J. Blackburn Bonnie Jean Blackburn (born July 15, 1939, Albany, New York) is an American musicologist. Career She graduated in 1970 from the University of Chicago with a PhD. She studied with Edward Lowinsky and Howard Mayer Brown. She was lecturer at Nor ...

Books

*''Das Antwerpener Motettenbuch Orlando di Lasso’s und seine Beziehungen zum Motettenschaffen der niederländischen Zeitgenossen'' (dissertation, U. of Heidelberg, 1933) *''Secret Chromatic Art in the Netherlands Motet'' (New York, 1946) *''Tonality and Atonality in Sixteenth-Century Music'' (Berkeley, 1961) *(ed. with B.J. Blackburn) ''Josquin des Prez: New York 1971'' (proceedings of an international symposium) *''Cipriano de Rore's Venus Motet: its Poetic and Pictorial Sources'' (Provo, UT, 1986) *''Music in the Culture of the Renaissance and other Essays'', ed. Bonnie J. Blackburn (Chicago, 1989) *(ed. with Bonnie J. Blackburn and Clement A. Miller) ''A Correspondence of Renaissance Musicians'' (Oxford, 1990)

References

Howard Mayer Brown Howard Mayer Brown (April 13, 1930 – February 20, 1993) was an American musicologist. Brown obtained his BA from Harvard in 1951 and his Ph.D. in 1959, studying under Walter Piston and Otto Gombosi among others. He conducted and performed o ...

, "Edward Lowinsky". ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'' online.

External links

Guide to the Edward E. Lowinsky Papers 1920-1986
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowinsky, Edward 1908 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American musicologists Josquin scholars