The International Musicological Society (IMS) is a membership-based organisation for

musicology 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 ...

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 ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It seeks the advancement of musicological

research Research is "creativity, 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 att ...

through international cooperation.

Overview

The International Musicological Society was founded on 30 September 1927 on the initiative of

Henry Prunières Henry Prunières (24 May 1886, in Paris – 11 April 1942, in Nanterre) was a French musicologist, and international proponent of contemporary art in various forms, including music, dance and painting. He occupies an important place in the art wor ...

, 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 classical ...

. 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 The International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML), also known as ''Association Internationale des Bibliothèques, Archives et Centres de Documentation Musicaux'' (AIBM) and ''Internationale Vereinigung der ...

to produce several directories: * Répertoire International d'Iconographie Musicale (RIdIM) *

Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (International Repertory of Music Literature; Internationales Repertorium der Musikliteratur), commonly known by its acronym RILM, is a nonprofit organization that offers digital collections and a ...

(RILM) *

Répertoire International de la Presse Musicale Répertoire international de la presse musicale (Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals, Internationales Repertorium der Musikzeitungen), commonly known as RIPM, provides access to music periodical literature published between 1750 and 1966 throu ...

(RIPM) *

Répertoire International des Sources Musicales 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 l ...

(RISM)

Publications

The IMS publishes a double-blind peer-reviewed journal twice a year, '' Acta Musicologica'', printed in five languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish), addressing musicological research of international importance. ''Acta'' has been published by

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it also ...

since 1954. The current editors are

Philip V. Bohlman Philip Vilas Bohlman (born August 8, 1952) is an American ethnomusicologist. Life and career He is the Ludwig Rosenberger Distinguished Service Professor in Jewish History, Music and the Humanities at the University of Chicago and a visiting pr ...

and Federico Celestini.

Membership

The IMS membership includes individuals, institutions, libraries, and organizations. Among its organizational members are: the

American Musicological Society The American Musicological Society (AMS) is a musicological organization which researches, promotes and produces publications on music. Founded in 1934, the AMS was begun by leading American musicologists of the time, and was crucial in legitim ...

(AMS), the

Royal Musical Association The Royal Musical Association (RMA) is a British scholarly society and charity. Founded in 1874, the Association claims to be the second oldest musicological society in the world, after that of the Netherlands. Activities include organizing and sp ...

, 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 International Mozarteum Foundation (Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum) was founded in 1880 in Salzburg with its primary concern being the life and work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Closely affiliated with the Mozarteum University Salzburg, it w ...

, 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 moved ...

(1927, Honorary President) * Peter Wagner ( ru) (1927–31) * Edward J. Dent (1932–49, Honorary President) *

Knud Jeppesen Knud Jeppesen (15 August 1892 – 14 June 1974) was a Danish musicologist and composer. He was the leading scholar of the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, about whose life and music he wrote numerous studies. Biography Jeppesen demonst ...

(1949–52) *

Albert Smijers Albertus Antonius Smijers (19 July 188815 May 1957), was a Dutch Musicology, musicologist who served as Professor of Musicology at the Utrecht University, University of Utrecht. He was a noted authority on Josquin des Prez—44 volumes of ''Werke ...

( nl) (1952–55) *

Paul Henry Lang Paul Henry Lang (August 28, 1901 – September 21, 1991) was a Hungarian-American musicologist and music critic. Career Lang was born as "Pál Láng" in Budapest, Hungary, and was educated in Catholic schools. In 1918, as World War I was coming ...

(1955–58) *

Friedrich Blume Friedrich Blume (5 January 1893, in Schlüchtern, Hesse-Nassau – 22 November 1975, in Schlüchtern) was professor of musicology at the University of Kiel from 1938 to 1958. He was a student in Munich, Berlin and Leipzig, and taught in the las ...

(1958–61) * Donald J. Grout (1961–64) *

Vladimir Fédorov Vladimir Fédorov (5 August 1901, Chernihiv – 9 April 1979, Paris) was a French musicologist, librarian, and composer of Russian birth. He studied with André Pirro at the Schola Cantorum de Paris and studied composition privately with Paul Vid ...

(1964–67) *

Kurt von Fischer Kurt von Fischer (25 April 1913 – 27 November 2003) was a Swiss musicologist and classical pianist. Life Fischer wurde was born on 25 April 1913 in Bern as the son of the mycologist Eduard Fischer. Fischer studied piano at the University of th ...

(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 respecte ...

(1977–82) * Ivan Supičić ( hr) (1982–87) *

Christoph-Hellmut Mahling Christoph-Hellmut Mahling (25 May 1932 – 13 February 2012) was a German musicologist and lecturer at various universities. Life and career Born in Berlin, Mahling studied musicology by Walter Gerstenberg, Georg Reichert, Joseph Müller-Blat ...

(1987–92) *

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

(1992–97) *

László Somfai László Somfai (born 15 August 1934) is a Hungarian musicologist. He was born in 1934 in Jászladány. He first studied History of Music, graduating in 1959 with a dissertation on the classical string quartet idiom of Joseph Haydn. He went on ...

(1997–2002) *

David Fallows David Fallows (born 20 December 1945) is an English musicologist specializing in music of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, as well as the performance practice of music. He is a leader in fifteenth-century music studies, particularly s ...

(2002–07) * Tilman Seebass (2007–12) *

Dinko Fabris Dinko Fabris is an Italian musicologist. He specializes in lute music, the music of Naples, and Italian music in general, having written books on Italian composers such as Andrea Falconieri, Andrea Gabrieli, Francesco Provenzale and Francesco Ca ...

(2012–17) * Daniel K. L. Chua (2017–22)

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

Overview

Publications

Membership

List of presidents

Further reading

External links