Leo Schrade
Encyclopedia
Leo Schrade was an American
musicologist
of German
birth.
, (today Olsztyn
), then part of the German Empire
. From 1923 he studied musicology in several universities—University of Heidelberg, University of Munich, and University of Leipzig
—and also took courses at the Mannheim Conservatory. His teachers included Adolf Sandberger
. He took the doctorate at the University of Leipzig in 1927, and then taught musicology first at the University of Königsberg
, and then at the University of Bonn
. Schrade's interests at the time lay mostly in early music
: his Leipzig dissertation was on early organ music, and he completed the Habilitation
in Königsberg in 1929 with a work on early instrumental music notation.
Schrade left Germany for the USA in late 1930s. In 1938 he was appointed assistant professor at Yale University
, where he went on to become associate professor (1943), and finally professor of music history (1948); all the while, from 1939, also working as director of graduate studies in music (1939–58). In 1958 he succeeded Jacques Handschin as professor and director of the musicology institute at the University of Basel
. Schrade held these positions until his death in 1964; he died at Spéracèdes
, France
.
Schrade's critical editions of works by Guillaume de Machaut, Francesco Landini
, and other medieval
composers (in the Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth Century series) are still of utmost importance for early music performers. He is also known today for his universal approach to the history of music: he worked not only on specialist topics such as medieval music, but also on works by Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, and many other composers. His large scale study of early opera composer Claudio Monteverdi, Monteverdi: Creator of Modern Music, still controversial among early music scholars, remains a key work in the evolution of critical attitudes towards the music of Monteverdi. Schrade founded and edited the Yale University Collegium Musicum series of critical editions (which included, during his time, first publications of the Wickhambrook Lute Manuscript, works by Alessandro Scarlatti
, Michael Haydn
, and others) and the Yale Studies in the History of Music series of publications; he also worked as co-editor of several journals, such as Journal of Renaissance and Baroque Music and Annales musicologiques.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
birth.
Biography
He was born in Allenstein, East PrussiaEast Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
, (today Olsztyn
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
), then part of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. From 1923 he studied musicology in several universities—University of Heidelberg, University of Munich, and University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
—and also took courses at the Mannheim Conservatory. His teachers included Adolf Sandberger
Adolf Sandberger
Adolf Sandberger was a German musicologist and composer, with a particular interest in 16th-century music. He founded the School of Musicology at the University of Munich, where he worked as a professor of musicology from 1904 to his retirement in 1930...
. He took the doctorate at the University of Leipzig in 1927, and then taught musicology first at the University of Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
, and then at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
. Schrade's interests at the time lay mostly in early music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
: his Leipzig dissertation was on early organ music, and he completed the Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
in Königsberg in 1929 with a work on early instrumental music notation.
Schrade left Germany for the USA in late 1930s. In 1938 he was appointed assistant professor at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he went on to become associate professor (1943), and finally professor of music history (1948); all the while, from 1939, also working as director of graduate studies in music (1939–58). In 1958 he succeeded Jacques Handschin as professor and director of the musicology institute at the University of Basel
University of Basel
The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...
. Schrade held these positions until his death in 1964; he died at Spéracèdes
Spéracèdes
Spéracèdes is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.-Population:Residents are called "Spéracèdois".-External links:**...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Schrade's critical editions of works by Guillaume de Machaut, Francesco Landini
Francesco Landini
Francesco degli Organi, Francesco il Cieco, or Francesco da Firenze, called by later generations Francesco Landini or Landino was an Italian composer, organist, singer, poet and instrument maker...
, and other medieval
Medieval music
Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...
composers (in the Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth Century series) are still of utmost importance for early music performers. He is also known today for his universal approach to the history of music: he worked not only on specialist topics such as medieval music, but also on works by Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, and many other composers. His large scale study of early opera composer Claudio Monteverdi, Monteverdi: Creator of Modern Music, still controversial among early music scholars, remains a key work in the evolution of critical attitudes towards the music of Monteverdi. Schrade founded and edited the Yale University Collegium Musicum series of critical editions (which included, during his time, first publications of the Wickhambrook Lute Manuscript, works by Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
, Michael Haydn
Michael Haydn
Johann Michael Haydn was an Austrian composer of the classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn.-Life:...
, and others) and the Yale Studies in the History of Music series of publications; he also worked as co-editor of several journals, such as Journal of Renaissance and Baroque Music and Annales musicologiques.
Writings
- Die ältesten Denkmäler der Orgelmusik als Beitrag zu einer Geschichte der Toccata (Dissertation, University of Leipzig, 1927)
- Die handschriftliche Überlieferung der ältesten Instrumentalmusik (Habilitationsschrift, University of Königsberg, 1929)
- Beethoven in France: the Growth of an Idea (New Haven, CT, 1942)
- Bach: the Conflict between the Sacred and the Secular (Journal of the History of Ideas, vii (1946), 151–94. Published separately: New York, 1954)
- Monteverdi, Creator of Modern Music (New York, 1950)
- Renaissance: the Historical Conception of an Epoch (IMSCR V: Utrecht 1952, 19–32)
- Political Compositions in French Music of the 12th and 13th Centuries (AnnM, i (1953), 9–63. Reprinted in: De scientia musicae studia atque orationes, ed. E. Lichtenhahn (Berne, 1967), 152–211)
- La représentation d'Edipo tiranno au Teatro Olimpico (Vicence 1585) (Paris, 1960)
- Tragedy in the Art of Music (Cambridge, MA, 1964)
Editions
- Luys Milаn: Libro de musica de vihuela de mano intitulado El maestro. Publikationen älterer Musik, ii (Leipzig, 1927)
- Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth Century, 8 volumes, edited the first four (1956–58)
- Vol. 1: The Roman de Fauvel; The Works of Philippe de Vitry; French Cycles of the ordinarium missae
- Vols. 2–3: Guillaume de Machaut: Works
- Vol. 4: Francesco Landini: Works
External links
- Collegium Musicum: Yale University, a series of critical editions founded and edited by Schrade