Neue Zeitschrift für Musik
Encyclopedia
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, co-founded by Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, his teacher and future father-in law Friedrich Wieck
Friedrich Wieck
Johann Gottlob Friedrich Wieck was a noted German piano teacher, voice teacher, owner of a piano store, and music reviewer. He is remembered as the teacher of his daughter, Clara, a child prodigy who was doing international concert tours by age eleven and who later married Robert Schumann...
, and his close friend Ludwig Schuncke
Ludwig Schuncke
Ludwig Schuncke was a German pianist and composer, and close friend of Robert Schumann. His early promise was eclipsed by his death from tuberculosis at the age of 23....
. Its first issue appeared on 3 April 1834.
NZM yesterday
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 ChopinFrédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
and Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
. 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
Franz Brendel
Not to be confused with composer Franz Brendel .Karl Franz Brendel was a German music critic, journalist and musicologist....
became owner and editor. Under his tenure, the most notable piece was Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's anti-Jewish article "Das Judenthum in der Musik
Das Judenthum in der Musik
Das Judenthum in der Musik is an essay by Richard Wagner, attacking Jews in general and the composers Giacomo Meyerbeer and Felix Mendelssohn in particular, which was published under a pseudonym in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik of Leipzig in...
", published under the pseudonym K. Freigedank ('Freethought') in volume 33, no. 19 (3 September 1850). Ignaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles was a Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso, whose career after his early years was based initially in London, and later at Leipzig, where he succeeded his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as head of the Conservatoire.-Sources:Much of what we know about Moscheles's life...
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
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, 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 MusicSchott Music
Schott Music is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe and is currently the second oldest music publishing house. The company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770.Established in...
, 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.