Peter John Branscombe (7 December 1929 – 31 December 2008) was an English academic in

German studies German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...

, a

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

, and a writer on Austrian cultural history.

Background

Peter John Branscombe was born in

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in the Swale district of Kent, southeast England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons. The town stands next to th ...

, Kent, on 7 December 1929. He attended

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

where he showed talent as

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

player. Having served his military service in Vienna, Austria, he studied literature at

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was ad ...

. There, he became acquainted with notable Austrian

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

s such as the composer

Egon Wellesz Egon Joseph Wellesz, CBE, FBA (21 October 1885 – 9 November 1974) was an Austrian, later British composer, teacher and musicologist, notable particularly in the field of Byzantine music. Early life and education in Vienna Egon Joseph Well ...

and the musicologist

Otto Erich Deutsch Otto Erich Deutsch (5 September 1883 – 23 November 1967) was an Austrian musicologist. He is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of Franz Schubert's compositions, first published in 1951 in English, with a revised edition pu ...

Career

After a brief stint at

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

, Branscombe joined the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

' faculty of

German Studies German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...

in 1959, a post he kept until the end of his life. In 1979, he founded St Andrews' Institute for Austrian Studies, the only such research facility in the United Kingdom. His interests included the popular theatre of the

Biedermeier The Biedermeier period was an era in Central European art and culture between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle classes grew in number and artists began producing works appealing to their sensibilities. The period began with the end of th ...

and the Viennese suburban theatre with authors like Raimund and

Nestroy Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the 1848 revolutions and ...

. He wrote works on

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

. Over many years, he wrote reviews of concerts and recordings and contributed to '' The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' and the ''

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

-Handbuch'' (''Wagner Handbook'') where he researched many forgotten composers of the 19th century. Branscombe also translated poems by

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

and academic texts. Between 1996 and 2001, Branscombe edited six '' Possen'' for the historical-critical edition of Nestroy's complete works. Branscombe retired from teaching in the final years of his life, but continued to write throughout his retirement.

Personal life

In 1967, Branscombe married German studies academic Marina Riley, and they had three children. He died from cancer at his

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

home on 31 December 2008, at the age of 79.

Selected works

* Unpublished dissertation in two volumes: ''The connexions between drama and music in the Viennese popular theatre from the opening of the

Leopoldstädter Theater The Theater in der Leopoldstadt (also: Leopoldstädter Theater) was an opera house in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, founded in 1781 by Karl von Marinelli, following the ''Schauspielfreiheit'' (ending of the court's monopoly on entertainment ...

(1781) to Nestroy's opera parodies (ca 1855), with special reference to the forms of parody'', 1976,

Wiener Stadtbibliothek The Wienbibliothek im Rathaus (), formerly known as the ''Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek'' (), is a library and archive containing important documents related to the history of Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1856, the library, which also contains ...

* ''

– Selected Verse by Heine.'' Translated by Peter Branscombe. Penguin Books. 1967/1968. * ''Austrian Life and Literature, 1780–1938''. Eight essays. Scottish Academic Press 1978. * ''Schubert Studies. Problems of Style and Chronology.'' (with

Eva Badura-Skoda Eva Badura-Skoda (née Halfar; 15 January 1929 – 8 January 2021) was a German-born Austrian musicologist. Biography Born in Munich, Eva Halfar studied at the Vienna Conservatory and took courses in musicology, philosophy, and art history at ...

) Cambridge 1978, * ''W. A. Mozart:

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

.'' Cambridge Opera Handbooks. Cambridge 1991, * Numerous contributions and reviews in: ''Forum for Modern Language Studies'', ''Austrian Studies'', ''Nestroyana''

References

External links

*Translated Penguin Book - at
Penguin First Editions
reference site of early first edition Penguin Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Branscombe, Peter 1929 births 2008 deaths People from Sittingbourne People educated at Dulwich College Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Academics of the University of St Andrews English philologists English writers about music British Germanists Theatrologists 20th-century English musicologists 21st-century English musicologists Deaths from cancer in Scotland