Carl Dahlhaus
Encyclopedia
Carl Dahlhaus a musicologist from (West) Berlin
, was one of the major contributors to the development of musicology
as a scholarly discipline during the post-war era.
Dahlhaus was born in Hanover
. His education was interrupted by the Second World War where he served on the front and as an anti-aircraft auxiliary. He completed school exams through a special program designed for those engaged in combat. He showed an interest in banned literature and was exceptionally well read. After the war, he first studied law, later musicology at the University of Göttingen and Freiburg_im_Breisgau. His thesis at Göttingen in 1953 concerned the masses of Josquin. In the 1950s he was a co-founder of the Darmstadt new music festival. After a period as a dramaturg at the German Theater in Göttingen from 1950 to 1958, a job obtained on the recommendation of Berthold Brecht, he became musical editor of the Stuttgarter Zeitung
, a newspaper, from 1960-1962. From 1962 to 1966 he served as a research assistant at the state musical research center at the University of Kiel. He earned a professorial grade from that university where he investigated the origins of harmonic tonality. In 1967 was hired as professor in music history at the Berlin Institute of Technology.
Dahlhaus wrote 25 books, more than 400 articles, and contributed to 150 other works on a wide range of subjects, though the majority of these on the history of western music and particularly that of the 19th century (i.e. Romantic music
). He was very interested in the work of Richard Wagner and his ideas about musical drama as a 'total artwork' and how a new language on society and politics was being formed through the work of so called 'modernist' composers; that art was no longer just 'art for arts sake'. His other favourite topics included music theory
, the aesthetics of music
, and the prehistory of "new music."
Dahlhaus was honored with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grand Cross with Star), a Blue Max
, and accepted into the German Academy
. In 1987, he was awarded the Frankfurter Musikpreis.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, was one of the major contributors to the development of musicology
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...
as a scholarly discipline during the post-war era.
Dahlhaus was born in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. His education was interrupted by the Second World War where he served on the front and as an anti-aircraft auxiliary. He completed school exams through a special program designed for those engaged in combat. He showed an interest in banned literature and was exceptionally well read. After the war, he first studied law, later musicology at the University of Göttingen and Freiburg_im_Breisgau. His thesis at Göttingen in 1953 concerned the masses of Josquin. In the 1950s he was a co-founder of the Darmstadt new music festival. After a period as a dramaturg at the German Theater in Göttingen from 1950 to 1958, a job obtained on the recommendation of Berthold Brecht, he became musical editor of the Stuttgarter Zeitung
Stuttgarter Zeitung
The Stuttgarter Zeitung is a German-language daily newspaper edited in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with a run of about 200,000 sold copies daily....
, a newspaper, from 1960-1962. From 1962 to 1966 he served as a research assistant at the state musical research center at the University of Kiel. He earned a professorial grade from that university where he investigated the origins of harmonic tonality. In 1967 was hired as professor in music history at the Berlin Institute of Technology.
Dahlhaus wrote 25 books, more than 400 articles, and contributed to 150 other works on a wide range of subjects, though the majority of these on the history of western music and particularly that of the 19th century (i.e. Romantic music
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
). He was very interested in the work of Richard Wagner and his ideas about musical drama as a 'total artwork' and how a new language on society and politics was being formed through the work of so called 'modernist' composers; that art was no longer just 'art for arts sake'. His other favourite topics included music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
, the aesthetics of music
Aesthetics of music
Traditionally, the aesthetics of music or musical aesthetics concentrated on the quality and study of the beauty and enjoyment of music. The origin of this philosophic sub-discipline is sometimes attributed to Baumgarten in the 18th century, followed by Kant...
, and the prehistory of "new music."
Dahlhaus was honored with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grand Cross with Star), a Blue Max
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
, and accepted into the German Academy
Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung
The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung was founded on August 28, 1949—the 200th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe—in Paulskirche in Frankfurt...
. In 1987, he was awarded the Frankfurter Musikpreis.