Robert Donington (4 May 1907 – 20 January 1990) was a British

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 ...

and instrumentalist influential in the

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

movement and in

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

studies. He was educated at St Paul's School, London, and studied at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. His expert knowledge of early instruments and the interpretation of pre-classical music owed much to a period of study with Arnold Dolmetsch at

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. He was appointed OBE in the

1979 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1979 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

. He was born in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, and died in

Firle Firle (; Sussex dialect: ''Furrel'' ) is a village and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. Firle refers to an old-English/Anglo-Saxon word ''fierol'' meaning overgrown with oak. Although the original division of East ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

at the age of 82.

Books

*''The Instruments of Music'' (1949). *''Tempo and Rhythm in Bach's Organ Music'' (1960). *''The Interpretation of Early Music'' (1963). *''Wagner's Ring and its Symbols'' (1963). *''String playing in baroque music'', with recorded illustrations by

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

, George Malcolm, (1977). *''A performer's guide to baroque music'' (1973). *''The Rise of Opera'' (1981). *''Baroque Music: Style and Performance, a Handbook'' (1982). *''Opera and its symbols : the unity of words, music, and staging'' (1990).

Articles

*The Psychology of ''Tristan'', ''Times Literary Supplement'', 18 June 1971, pp 699–700

Sources

Sadie, S. (ed.) (1980) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians'', ol. #5

External links

* Obituary in ''Early Music'', November 199

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donington, Robert 1907 births 1990 deaths English musicologists Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British musicologists People from Leeds People from Firle Wagner scholars