The International Musicological Society (IMS) is a membership-based organisation for
musicology at the international level, with headquarters in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...
,
Switzerland. It seeks the advancement of musicological
research
Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...
through international cooperation.
Overview
The International Musicological Society was founded on 30 September 1927 on the initiative of
Henry Prunières, during the celebration of the centenary of the death of
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
. His proposal aimed to resurrect the International Music Society, which had dissolved in 1914, and was met with great interest.
The IMS organizes an international congress every five years, in years ending on 2 or 7. At these congresses, members elect the directorium. The most recent congress took place i
Tokyo in 2017 The next congress will be in Athens in 2022. In between these congresses, they also sponsor international symposia on specialized subjects.
The IMS collaborates closely with the
International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres to produce several directories:
*
Répertoire International d'Iconographie Musicale
A repertoire () is a list or set of dramas, operas, musical compositions or roles which a company or person is prepared to perform.
Musicians often have a musical repertoire. The first known use of the word ''repertoire'' was in 1847. It is a lo ...
(RIdIM)
*
Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM)
*
Répertoire International de la Presse Musicale (RIPM)
*
Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (RISM)
Publications
The IMS publishes a double-blind peer-reviewed journal twice a year, ''
Acta Musicologica
''Acta Musicologica'' is the official peer-reviewed journal of the International Musicological Society, which has its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. It contains articles on musicological research of international importance in five different l ...
'', printed in five languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish), addressing musicological research of international importance. ''Acta'' has been published by
Bärenreiter since 1954. The current editors are
Philip V. Bohlman and
Federico Celestini Federico Celestini (born 5 December 1964) is an Italian musicologist. Since 2011 he has been professor of musicology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.
Life
Federico Celestini was born in Rome. He studied violin at the Musikhochschule Giuli ...
.
Membership
The IMS membership includes individuals, institutions, libraries, and organizations. Among its organizational members are: the
American Musicological Society (AMS), the
Royal Musical Association, the Schweizerische Musikforschende Gesellschaft, the Paul Sacher Stiftung, the Deutsches Musikgeschichtliches Archiv, the Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Musikforschung
The ''Gesellschaft für Musikforschung'' (GfM) is a professional association of musicologists and institutes active in study, research and teaching in Germany. It has over 1600 members. The association is based in Kassel, Hesse.
History
The soc ...
, the Staatliches Institut für Musikforschung Berlin, the
Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, the Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, the Società Italiana di Musicologia, the Société française de musicologie, the Société Belge de musicologie, the Danish Musicological Society, the Vereniging van Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, the Societat Catalana de Musicologia, The Friends of Music Society, Greece, The Musicological Society of Japan, and the Musicological Society of Australia.
List of presidents
*
Guido Adler
Guido Adler (1 November 1855, Ivančice (Eibenschütz), Moravia – 15 February 1941, Vienna) was a Bohemian-Austrian musicologist and writer.
Biography
Early life and education
Adler was born at Eibenschütz in Moravia in 1855. He move ...
(1927, Honorary President)
*
Peter Wagner (
ru) (1927–31)
*
Edward J. Dent (1932–49, Honorary President)
*
Knud Jeppesen (1949–52)
*
Albert Smijers (
nl) (1952–55)
*
Paul Henry Lang (1955–58)
*
Friedrich Blume (1958–61)
*
Donald J. Grout
Donald Jay Grout (September 28, 1902 – March 9, 1987) was an American musicologist. He is best known as the author of ''A Short History of Opera,'' first published in 1947. The fourth edition was published by Columbia University Press in 2003.
...
(1961–64)
*
Vladimir Fédorov (1964–67)
*
Kurt von Fischer (1967–72)
*
Eduard Reeser (
nl) (1972–77)
*
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 respec ...
(1977–82)
*
Ivan Supičić (
hr) (1982–87)
*
Christoph-Hellmut Mahling (1987–92)
*
Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicology, musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), whi ...
(1992–97)
*
László Somfai (1997–2002)
*
David Fallows (2002–07)
*
Tilman Seebass (2007–12)
*
Dinko Fabris (2012–17)
*
Daniel K. L. Chua (2017–22)
Further reading
* Dorothea Baumann and
Dinko Fabris (eds.), ''The History of the IMS (1927–2017)'' (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2017).
* Rudolf Häusler, "50 Jahre Internationale Gesellschaft für Musikwissenschaft", in: ''Acta Musicologica'' vol. 49 (1977), no. 1, pp. 1–27.
External links
Official websiteWebsite of ''Acta Musicologica''
{{Authority control
Music organisations based in Switzerland
Music-related professional associations
Musicology
Organizations established in 1927
Organisations based in Basel