Hans Joachim Moser (25 May 1889, Berlin
[''Die kleine Enzyklopädie'', Encyclios-Verlag, Zurich, 1950, Vol. 2, p. 202.] – 14 August 1967, Berlin) was a German
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 mu ...
, composer and singer.
Moser was the son of the music-professor
Andreas Moser
Andreas Moser (29 November 1859 – 7 October 1925) was a German musician, music pedagogue and musicologist.
Early life and education
Born in Zemun, Syrmia, Austrian Empire, Moser was the son of a winegrower and smoker from Upper Austria. As ...
(1859–1925), a pupil and important early biographer of
Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of ...
. He studied the History of Music (mainly with
Gustav Jenner
Gustav Jenner (3 December 1865 – 29 August 1920), born Cornelius Uwe Gustav Jenner was a German composer, conductor and musical scholar. He was the only formal composition pupil of Johannes Brahms.
Biography
Jenner was born in Keitum on the isl ...
and
Robert Kahn), German philology and Philosophy in
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
, Berlin and
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
, and studied violin with his father. With the work Musical Confederations in the German Middle Ages he obtained his doctorate in 1910 at
Rostock
Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...
.
He took part as a lieutenant during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, was officially accepted as part of the
University of Halle
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...
in 1919, and in 1922 became extraordinary Professor. In 1925 he followed a call to
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
. From 1927 to 1933 he was Director of the State Academy for Church and School Music in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. In 1933 Moser was forcibly pensioned off on political grounds. In 1938 he became the representative leader of the Reichs-authority for Musical Activities in the Reichs-
Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
The Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (; RMVP), also known simply as the Ministry of Propaganda (), controlled the content of the press, literature, visual arts, film, theater, music and radio in Nazi Germany.
The ministry ...
; from 1940 until 1945 he was its General Secretary. He received in 1947 a professorship from the
Jena University
The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
The un ...
, but after two months it was withdrawn in the light of his activities in the Propaganda Ministry. From 1950 to 1960 Moser worked as director at the State Music Conservatory in
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
. In 1963 the
Mozart Medal of the City of
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
was bestowed upon him.
Moser wrote studies of numerous composers, like
Paul Hofhaimer
Paul Hofhaimer (25 January 1459 – 1537) was an Austrian organist and composer. He was particularly gifted at improvisation, and was regarded as the finest organist of his age by many writers, including Vadian and Paracelsus; in addition he ...
,
Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...
und
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
as well as his studies in ''Das deutsche Lied seit Mozart'' (''German Song since
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
'') of 1937. During the 1920s he brought out a ''History of German Music'' in three volumes which was published in various forms. After the
Second World War
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 opposin ...
Moser wrote a ''History of Evangelical Church Music in Germany'' countless biographical essays, like (for example) his ''Musical History in 100 Life Stories''. His ''Music-Lexikon'' went through five editions by 1955. Its later development was in the book in the manner of the Germanist
Josef Nadler Josef may refer to
*Josef (given name)
*Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people:
* Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher
* Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...
, ''Music in the German Tradition'' (1957). Moser carried out the new editing of the ''Monuments of German Composition'' (''
Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst'', or DDT).
Moser's oeuvre as a composer includes piano pieces, songs, theatre music and choral works.
Moser was the father of the singer
Edda Moser
Edda Moser (born 27 October 1938) is a German operatic soprano. She was particularly well known for her interpretations of music by Mozart. Her 1973 recital LP ' received the Grand Prix du Disque.
Life and career
Moser was born in Berlin, th ...
, of the folklorist and literary scholar
Dietz-Rüdiger Moser (b. 1939, d. 2010), and of the singer
Wolf-Hildebrand Moser (b. 1943).
Works
* Editions of Songs, including the newer 2-volume
Carl Loewe
Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe (; 30 November 1796 – 20 April 1869), usually called Carl Loewe (sometimes seen as Karl Loewe), was a German composer, tenor singer and Conducting, conductor. In his lifetime, his songs ("Balladen") were well enough ...
for
Edition Peters
Edition Peters is a classical music publisher founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1800.
History
The company came into being on 1 December 1800 when the Viennese composer Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) and the local organist Ambrosius Kühnel ( ...
.
*''Das deutsche Lied seit Mozart'' (Atlantis Verlag, Berlin and Zurich 1937).
Sources
*
Ludwig Finscher
Ludwig Finscher (14 March 193030 June 2020) was a German musicologist. He was a professor of music history at the University of Heidelberg from 1981 to 1995 and editor of the encyclopedia ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart''. He is respecte ...
: ''Moser, Hans Joachim'', in ''
Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...
'' (Music in History and the Present), edited by Ludwig Finscher, 2. new Edition, Personenteil, Vol. 12. (Bärenreiter/ Metzler, Kassel et al. 2004), 528f.
* Ute Lemm: ''Musikwissenschaft in Westdeutschland nach 1945.'' (Musicology in West Germany since 1945). ''Analysen und Interpretationen diskursiver Konstellationen.'' (University Dissertation, Bonn 2005) (Volltext)
* Heinz Wegener (Editor): ''Festgabe für Hans Joachim Moser zum 65. Geburtstag. (Festschrift for Hans Joachim Moser on his 65th Birthday)''. (Hinnenthal, Kassel 1954) (with 91-page Bibliography).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moser, Hans Joachim
Musicologists from Berlin
1889 births
1967 deaths
20th-century German musicologists
Musicians from Berlin
German Army personnel of World War I
University of Halle faculty
Heidelberg University faculty