Thomas James Samson, FBA (born 1946), commonly known as Jim Samson, is a

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 ...

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

and retired academic. Educated at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

(

BMus Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or music school, conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consi ...

) and

University College, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

( MMus, PhD), he was appointed to a

research fellowship A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

in 1972. He moved to the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

in 1973 as a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

; promotions followed, to

reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in 1987 and

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of Musicology in 1992. In 1994, he was appointed Stanley Hugh Badock Professor of Music at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, and was then Professor of Music at

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

, between 2002 and 2011."Samson, Prof. Thomas James (Jim)"
''Who's Who'' (online edition, University of Oxford, December 2018). Retrieved 18 November 2018.

Honours and awards

Samson was awarded the Order of Merit by the Polish government in 1990 and was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

, the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...

, in 2000. In 2018, he received the IRC Harrison Medal from the Society for Musicology in Ireland.

Selected publications

* ''Music in Transition: A Study of the Tonal Expansion and Early Atonality, 1900–1920'' (Dent, 1977; reprinted in 1993). * ''The Music of Szymanowski'' (Kahn and Averill, 1980). * ''The Music of Chopin'' (

Routledge and Kegan Paul Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 1985; reprinted by

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1994). * ''Chopin: The Four Ballades'' (

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 1992). * (Editor) ''The Cambridge Companion to Chopin'' (

, 1992). * ''Chopin'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1996). * (Editor) ''The Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Music'' (

, 2002). * ''Virtuosity and the Musical Work: the Transcendental Studies of Liszt'' (

, 2003). * (Edited with

J. P. E. Harper-Scott J. P. E. Harper-Scott (born 3 December 1977) is a British musicologist and formerly Professor of Music History and Theory at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is a General Editor of the Cambridge University Press series 'Music in Context'. ...

) ''Introduction to Music Studies'' (

, 2008). *''Music in the Balkans'' (

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, 2013). * (Edited with Nicoletta Demetriou) ''Music in Cyprus'' (

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 2015).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samson, Jim Living people 1946 births British musicologists Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of Cardiff University Academics of the University of Leicester Academics of the University of Exeter Academics of the University of Bristol Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London Fellows of the British Academy Chopin scholars