Kurt Blaukopf (15 February 1914 – 14 June 1999) was an Austrian music sociologist. Blaukopf established music sociology as a subject at the Vienna Musikhochschule. He founded the Institute of Music Sociology and the MEDIACULT Institute.

Life and career

Blaukopf was born in

Czernowitz Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the up ...

(then

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

), but the family soon left

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

for

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

where he studied law and political science. After the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

in 1938, he had to leave Austria and continued to work in Paris, and in 1940 he moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Blaukopf never completed his studies, and he worked as a freelance musicologist and

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 ...

since 1947. From 1962 until his retirement in 1984, he first lectured at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna where he became an

honorary professor Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

in 1974 and Austria's first and only full professor of music sociology in 1977. In 1994 Blaukopf was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Vienna. Blaukopf initiated the founding of the MEDIACULT Institute (International Research Institute for Media, Communication and Cultural Development) and was its director until 1985. Blaukopf was also a member of the Executive Council of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

from 1972 to 1976. His best-known work is "Musik im Wandel der Gesellschaft" (Musical Life in a Changing Society), published in 1982 and expanded in 1996, which provides a comprehensive overview of his conception of music sociology."Blaukopf, Kurt". In ''Lexikon deutsch-jüdischer Autoren; Band 3'' published by Archiv Bibliographia Judaica, Saur, Munich, 1995 Kurt Blaukopf was in contact with numerous influential intellectuals of the pre-war and post-war periods, such as

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was an Austrian composer (his father was Austrian, and Eisler fought in a Hungarian regiment in World War I). He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artisti ...

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical t ...

and

Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the cl ...

. He was married to the

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

researcher (née Singer), with whom he co-published several works.

Selected bibliography

* ''Musical Life in a Changing Society: Aspects of Musical Sociology''; Amadeus Press, 2003 * ''Mahler: His Life, Work and World''; (with Herta Blaukopf) Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1992 * ''Gustav Mahler oder der Zeitgenosse der Zukunft''. Verlag Fritz Molden, Vienna 1969

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaukopf, Kurt 1914 births 1999 deaths Austrian music historians Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna 20th-century Austrian musicologists Mahler scholars