The New Journal of Music (, and abbreviated to NZM) is a music magazine, co-founded in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

, his teacher and future father-in law Friedrich Wieck, Julius Knorr and his close friend Ludwig Schuncke. Its first issue appeared on 3 April 1834.

History

Although the first editor was Julius Knorr, most of the work on the early issues of the ''Neue Zeitschrift'' (NZM) was done by Schumann; in 1835, when a new publisher was found, Schumann's name appeared as editor. In his reviews, he praised those of the new generation of musicians who deserved acclaim, including

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

and

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

. Schuncke wrote some articles under the byline "Jonathan" but died at the age of 23 in December 1834. In June 1843, Schumann's other commitments made him give up editorship of the magazine, and in 1844 Franz Brendel became owner and editor. Under his tenure, the most notable piece was

Richard 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 ...

's anti-Jewish article " Das Judenthum in der Musik", published under the pseudonym K. Freigedank ('Freethought') in volume 33, no. 19 (3 September 1850). Ignaz Moscheles and other teachers at the Leipzig Conservatory were outraged and called for Brendel's resignation from its board. Wagner's article had insulted the memory of Felix Mendelssohn, the conservatory's founder—but had little further effect at the time. Later in the nineteenth century, it contributed to the rise in anti-semitism, including criticism of music by Jewish composers who differed in style from Wagner. Brendel continued to edit the magazine until his death in 1868.

NZM today

The ''Neue Zeitschrift für Musik'', under the aegis of Schott Music, continues as a vehicle for writing on music, including classical, jazz, rock, and sound art. Each issue focuses on a particular topic, and includes a variety of essays, CD and book reviews.

References

External links

''Neue Zeitschrift für Musik'' Website
German-language magazines Music magazines published in Germany Magazines established in 1834 Magazines published in Leipzig Robert Schumann Monthly magazines published in Germany {{music-mag-stub