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Karl Leichter (13 October 1902 in Näpi, Rakvere Parish – 7 March 1987 in
Karl Leichter (13 October 1902 in Näpi, Rakvere Parish – 7 March 1987 in Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
) was an Estonian 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 ...
. He graduated in 1929 in theory and composition, studying under Heino Eller
Heino Eller (7 March 1887 – 16 June 1970) was an Estonian composer and pedagogue, known as the founder of contemporary Estonian symphonic music.
Life
Eller was born in Tartu, where he took private lessons in violin and music theory, played i ...
with pupils such as Eduard Tubin, Alfred Karindi, Eduard Oja and Olav Roots
Olav Roots (26 February 1910 – 30 January 1974) was an Estonian conductor, pianist and composer.
Roots was born in Uderna. He studied at the Music School of Tartu from 1923 to 1928, studying piano with Artur Lemba and composition under H ...
. Between 1929 and 1931 he worked in the Estonian Folklore Archives. Following 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 ...
and the ensuing Soviet occupation of Estonia
The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...
, he worked hard to re-establish functioning musical education and musicological research. For a short period, he was dean of Tallinn State Conservatory
The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...
, but quickly lost his position due to political reasons. Only after Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
's death could he slowly work his way back to a position as a teacher and eventually as the Chair of the Department of Composition and Musicology. He later worked in Stockholm and Helsinki. The Eduard Tubin Museum of Alatskivi Castle
Alatskivi Castle ( et, Alatskivi loss, german: Schloss Allatzkiwwi) is a Gothic Revival architecture, Neo-Gothic castle in Alatskivi, Estonia. Dating to the 17th century, it is situated in Peipsiääre Parish, Tartu County. It was rebuilt in t ...
today contains exhibits related to him and his other peers who studied with him at the Tartu school. His large archive of correspondence with many important musicians throughout Estonia and abroad was donated by his widow to the Estonian Museum of Theatre and Music in the 1990s.
References
1902 births 1987 deaths People from Rakvere Parish People from the Governorate of Estonia Estonian musicologists Estonian folklorists Soviet musicologists 20th-century musicologists {{Estonia-bio-stub