Klaus Philipp Wachsmann (8 March 1907 – 17 July 1984) was a British ethnomusicologist of German birth. Born in 1907 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, he is considered a pioneer in the study of the traditional musics of Africa. His studies in Germany (on pre-Gregorian chant under mentor

Erich von Hornbostel Erich Moritz von Hornbostel (25 February 1877 – 28 November 1935) was an Austrian ethnomusicologist and scholar of music. He is remembered for his pioneering work in the field of ethnomusicology, and for the Sachs–Hornbostel system of mus ...

) were interrupted by the rise of the Nazis in 1933, where he was also forbidden to marry his 'Aryan' fiancée Eva Buttenburg, a singer. Consequently they both migrated to Britain in 1936.Oldfield, Sybil. ''The Black Book: The Britons on the Nazi Hit List'' (2020), p.233-4 While in the UK Wachsmann gained funding by the

Society for the Protection of Science and Learning The Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) is a charitable British organisation dedicated to assisting academics in immediate danger, those forced into exile, and many who choose to remain in their home countries despite the serious risks they face ...

to study African languages at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

in London. His wife worked as a voice coach. With help from the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

they then moved to

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

in 1937, where Wachsmann compiled an extensive collection of field recordings between 1949 and 1952. The full collection was originally deposited at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

where they form part of the World and Traditional Music collection. He founded the

International Folk Music Council The International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) is a scholarly non-governmental organization which focuses on the study, practice, documentation, preservation, and dissemination of traditional music and dance of all countries. Founded in Lo ...

, where he first met

Charles Seeger Charles Louis Seeger Jr. (December 14, 1886 – February 7, 1979) was an American musicologist, composer, teacher, and folklorist. He was the father of the American folk singers Pete Seeger (1919–2014), Peggy Seeger (b. 1935), and Mike Seeger ( ...

, subsequently a lifelong friend. After a year's leave in England was appointed as founding curator of Kampala's

Uganda Museum The Uganda Museum is located in Kampala, Uganda. It displays and exhibits ethnological, natural-historical and traditional life collections of Uganda's cultural heritage. It was founded in 1908, after Governor George Wilson called for "all articl ...

, where he stayed until 1957. In order to present music as a living experience he employed professional musicians as museum attendants who gave performances every day. Many of his photographic records are housed at

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

. In 1957 he and his wife returned to England, where he was put in charge of ethnological collections at the

Wellcome Foundation The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glax ...

. He had hoped to find a teaching position at a British University, but failed to do so. So in 1963 they moved to the US, where Wachsmann was appointed Professor of Music at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

from 1963 to 1968.Obituary, ''The Times'', 21 July 1984, p.10 During the 1970s he continued teaching at various locations (Illinois, Texas, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cologne) and in 1975 established a home back in England, at a stone cottage in Tisbury, Wiltshire. He became a contributor on musical instruments and ethnomusicology to the '' New Grove Dictionary'' of 1980.Sue Carole De Vale.
Intrusions: A Remembrance of Klaus Wachsmann (1907-1984)
', in Ethnomusicology, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Spring - Summer, 1985), pp. 272-282 His book ''Essays on Music and History in Africa'' was published in 1971.
/ref> He died in 1984 at home aged 77, survived by his wife Eva and two children, Katrin and Philipp.

References

External links

Klaus Wachsmann page
from UCLA site
Klaus Wachsmann Collection Online at British Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wachsmann, Klaus 1907 births 1984 deaths American ethnomusicologists UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music faculty 20th-century American musicologists