Ludwig Finscher (14 March 193030 June 2020) was a German musicologist. He was a professor of

music history Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history o ...

at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

from 1981 to 1995 and editor of the encyclopedia ''

Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...

''. He is respected internationally as an authority on the history of

Western Classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" ...

from the 16th century to contemporary classical music, with a view on music in cultural, social, historical and philosophical context, in a clear language for both specialists and lay readers.

Life and career

Born in Kassel, the youngest of five siblings, Finscher studied musicology, English, German and philosophy at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

from 1949 to 1954. Students at the same time included Gerhard Croll, Carl Dahlhaus and Rudolf Stephan. He earned 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 ''li ...

with a thesis about the

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

es and motets by

Loyset Compère Loyset Compère ( – 16 August 1518) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. Of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, he was one of the most significant composers of motets and chansons of that era, and one of the first musicians ...

, with advisor Rudolf Gerber. From 1954, he worked for the Deutsches Volksliedarchiv (German archive of folk songs) in Freiburg im Breisgau. He returned to Göttingen in 1955, working as a freelance journalist and music critic. He became a scientific assistant to Walter Wiora in 1960, first at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

and from 1965 at the University of Saarbrücken. In 1967 he obtained his habilitation in Saarbrücken with the work ''Das klassische Streichquartett und seine Grundlegung durch Joseph Haydn'' (The classical string quartet and its foundation by Joseph Haydn). From 1968 to 1981, he held a chair for musicology at the University of Frankfurt, and from 1981 until his retirement in 1995 the same position at the

. Finscher was president of the

Gesellschaft für Musikforschung The ''Gesellschaft für Musikforschung'' (GfM) is a professional association 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 so ...

(Society for music research) from 1974 to 1977 and the International Musicological Society from 1977 to 1981. He died in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

on 30 June 2020 at the age of 90.

Research work

One of Finscher's most important accomplishments was his editing, beginning in 1994, of the new edition of the encyclopaedia ''

'' in 28 volumes, for which he wrote or updated some 40 articles. His extensive works on string quartets, chamber music and Joseph Haydn are regarded as musicological standards, as is the two-volume ''Music of the 15th and 16th centuries''. Finscher contributed to the complete editions of the works of Christoph Willibald Gluck, W. A. Mozart, and

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

. He was also co-editor of the ''Capellae Apostolicae Sixtinaeque Collectanea Acta Monumenta''. He published over 130 articles in anthologies and journals, aiming for simple wording accessible to lay readers as well as specialists. His approach was described by the Balzan Foundation:

Publications

* ''Die Messen und Motetten Loyset Compères'' (dissertation) * ''

Awards

* 1994

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

* 1997

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* 2003 Honorary doctorate of the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

* 2006 Balzan Prize, awarded on 24 November 2006 by the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano in Rome *:

References

External links

*
Literatur von Ludwig Finscher
in

Bibliography of Music Literature The Bibliography of Music Literature (BMS or BMS online, german: Bibliographie des Musikschrifttums) is an international bibliography of literature on music. It considers all kind of music and includes both current and older literature. Since 196 ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finscher, Ludwig 1930 births 2020 deaths Writers from Kassel 20th-century German musicologists International Musicological Society presidents University of Göttingen alumni University of Kiel faculty Heidelberg University faculty Haydn scholars Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)