Klaus Wolfgang Niemöller (21 July 1929 – 13 April 2024) was a German
musicologist
Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
.
Life and career
Niemöller studied musicology at the
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
from 1950 to 1955. Afterwards he received his doctorate with a dissertation on
Nicolaus Wollick and in 1964 his
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...
with ''Untersuchungen zu Musikpflege und Musikunterricht in den deutschen Lateinschulen vom ausgehenden
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
bis um 1600''. In 1969 he was appointed professor.
From 1975 to 1983, Niemöller was director of the musicological seminar of the
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in
Münster
Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
and from 1983 to 1994 director of the musicological institute of the University of Cologne. Niemöller was chairman of the
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
Institute in Cologne and the Robert Schumann Research Centre in Düsseldorf as well as president of the
Gesellschaft für Musikforschung
The German Musicological Society (, abbreviated to GfM) is an academic society 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 ...
.
From 1976, Niemöller was a full member of the
. His focus was on medieval music theory, and on the music history of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Niemöller died in Cologne on 13 April 2024, at the age of 94.
Publications
* ''Nicolaus Wollick (1480–1541) und sein Musiktraktat'', Dissertation Cologne 1956 (Beiträge zur rheinischen Musikgeschichte 13).
* ''Untersuchungen zu Musikpflege und Musikunterricht an den deutschen Lateinschulen vom ausgehenden Mittelalter bis um 1600'', Habilitationsschrift Regensburg 1969 (Kölner Beiträge zur Musikforschung 54).
* ''Der sprachhafte Charakter der Musik'', Opladen 1980.
Essays
* ''Die musikalische Rhetorik und ihre Genese in Musik und Musikanschauung der Renaissance'',
''Die musikalische Rhetorik und ihre Genese in Musik und Musikanschauung der Renaissance''
in Renaissance-Rhetorik. editor H. Plett, Berlin 1993, .
* ''Robert Schumann und Giacomo Meyerbeer'', in: Kongress Bericht 5. Internationales Schumann-Symposion Düsseldorf 1994, Mainz 1997, (Schumann Forschungen 6).
* ''Zusammenprall christlicher und antiker Überlieferungen'', in Musikästhetik, edit. H. de la Motte-Haber, Laaber 2004, (Handbuch der Systematischen Musikwissenschaft 1).
Editorial board
* '
* ''Schumann Forschungen''
* ''Robert Schumann: Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke''
References
External links
*
Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Künste
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niemoller, Klaus Wolfgang
1929 births
2024 deaths
German musicologists
People from Gelsenkirchen