Max Ernst Unger (28 May 1883, in

Taura Taura is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. Personalities * Johann Esche (1682-1752), born in today's local part of Köthensdorf, German stocking manufacturer * Max Unger (1883-1959), musicologist, Beethoven ...

– 1 December 1959, in Zurich) was a German

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 ...

. Although he wrote on a variety of subjects, he is chiefly known for his extensive research and writings on the life and works of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

. Unger, the son of a factory owner, studied from 1904 to 1906 at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

, and entered the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

in 1908. There, he studied under

Heinrich Zöllner Heinrich Zöllner (4 July 1854 – 8 May 1941) was a German composer and conductor. Biography The son of composer Carl Friedrich Zöllner, Heinrich Zöllner was born in Leipzig. From 1875 to 1877 he attended the Leipzig Conservatory where he s ...

and

Hugo Riemann Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann (18 July 1849 – 10 July 1919) was a German musicologist and composer who was among the founders of modern musicology. The leading European music scholar of his time, he was active and influential as both a musi ...

. Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945'', CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, S. 7.315. In 1911, he completed a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

with a dissertation on

Muzio Clementi Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, who was mostly active in England. Encourag ...

. After serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he worked as editor of the New Journal of Music in 1919 and 1920. From 1932 to 1939, he lived in Zurich and catalogued the valuable Beethoven collection of local industrialist Hans Conrad Bodmer, which was later bequeathed to the

Beethoven House The Beethoven House (German: ''Beethoven-Haus'') in Bonn, Germany, is a memorial site, museum and cultural institution serving various purposes. Founded in 1889 by the Beethoven-Haus association, it studies the life and work of composer Ludwig van ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

. In 1939, Unger moved to

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History Volter ...

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

. While he had been denounced by the

Militant League for German Culture The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin ...

as a "musical

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

" in 1935, he cooperated with the

Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce The Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce (german: Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg or ''ERR'') was a Nazi Party organization dedicated to appropriating cultural property during the Second World War. It was led by the chief ideologue of the Nazi Par ...

and the Amt Rosenberg beginning in 1942 or 1943.

Ernst Klee Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was concer ...

: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945''. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, S. 626. His job was to catalogue

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

seized from

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in occupied

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, including the personal collection of escaped

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

ist

Wanda Landowska Wanda Aleksandra Landowska (5 July 1879 – 16 August 1959) was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist whose performances, teaching, writings and especially her many recordings played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in ...

. Unger returned from Italy to Zurich in 1957. He is considered one of the most important Beethoven scholars of the first half of the 20th century. His books and papers were acquired by the Beethoven House in 1961.

Books

* ''Auf Spuren von Beethovens „ Unsterblicher Geliebten“'', Langensalza 1910 * ''

s Leben'', Langensalza 1913 * ''Beethoven über eine Gesamtausgabe seiner Werke'', Bonn 1920 * ''Ludwig van Beethoven und seine Verleger S. A. Steiner und Tobias Haslinger in Wien, Ad. Mart. Schlesinger in Berlin'', Berlin und Wien 1921 * ''Beethovens Handschrift'', Bonn 1926 * ''Eine Schweizer Beethoven-Sammlung. Katalog'', Zürich 1939 (Katalog der Sammlung H. C. Bodmer) * ''Ein Faustopernplan Beethovens und

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

s'', Regensburg 1952

References

1883 births 1959 deaths Beethoven scholars 20th-century German musicologists {{Germany-academic-bio-stub