Wye Jamison Allanbrook
Encyclopedia
Wye Jamison "Wendy" Allanbrook (March 15, 1943 – July 15, 2010) was an American musicologist whose writings demonstrated that much of the music of Mozart
and his contemporaries was influenced by the social dance
s of the time.
Allanbrook was born on March 15, 1943, in Hagerstown, Maryland
. She attended Vassar College
where she earned her undergraduate degree in classics. She earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University
in 1974, where her doctoral dissertation became the basis for her 1983 book Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart: 'Le Nozze di Figaro' and 'Don Giovanni published by the University of Chicago Press
, in which she demonstrated that Mozart's music integrated references to the social practices and dances of his period. Forms of music used by Mozart would demonstrate information about characters in his operas. For example, a minuet
would be characteristic of upper class status, while a gigue
was representative of peasants. Her research influenced the way in which directors and conductors, including Roger Norrington
and Peter Sellars
, have staged Mozart's operas. In a review of works about Mozart on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the composer's death, music critic Edward Rothstein
of The New York Times
called Allanbrook's theories on the dances in The Marriage of Figaro
and Don Giovanni
to be among "the most intriguing insights into the music itself" that he had found.
She served on the faculty of St. John's College in Maryland from 1969 to 1995, when she moved to the University of California, Berkeley
, beginning her tenure there as a visiting professor. She was recognized as a Guggenheim Fellow in 1996. Cancer forced her to resign in 2003 as president of the American Musicological Society
. Her book The Secular Commedia: Comic Mimesis in Late 18th-Century Music is planned to be completed by her colleagues based on the content of her "Bloch lectures" at Berkeley and to be published by the University of California Press
.
Allanbrook died of cancer at age 67 on July 15, 2010, at her home in Oakland, California
. She was survived by a son. Her marriage to Douglas Allanbrook
, a musician and composer who was a longtime professor at St. John's College, ended in divorce.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
and his contemporaries was influenced by the social dance
Social dance
Social dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing...
s of the time.
Allanbrook was born on March 15, 1943, in Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
. She attended Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
where she earned her undergraduate degree in classics. She earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1974, where her doctoral dissertation became the basis for her 1983 book Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart: 'Le Nozze di Figaro' and 'Don Giovanni published by the University of Chicago Press
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
, in which she demonstrated that Mozart's music integrated references to the social practices and dances of his period. Forms of music used by Mozart would demonstrate information about characters in his operas. For example, a minuet
Minuet
A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
would be characteristic of upper class status, while a gigue
Gigue
The gigue or giga is a lively baroque dance originating from the British jig. It was imported into France in the mid-17th century and usually appears at the end of a suite...
was representative of peasants. Her research influenced the way in which directors and conductors, including Roger Norrington
Roger Norrington
Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington, CBE is a British conductor. He is the son of Sir Arthur Norrington and his brother is Humphrey Thomas Norrington....
and Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
, have staged Mozart's operas. In a review of works about Mozart on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the composer's death, music critic Edward Rothstein
Edward Rothstein
Edward Rothstein is a critic and a composer.Rothstein holds a B.A. from Yale University , an M.A. in English literature from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. from the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called Allanbrook's theories on the dances in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
and Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
to be among "the most intriguing insights into the music itself" that he had found.
She served on the faculty of St. John's College in Maryland from 1969 to 1995, when she moved to the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, beginning her tenure there as a visiting professor. She was recognized as a Guggenheim Fellow in 1996. Cancer forced her to resign in 2003 as president of the American Musicological Society
American Musicological Society
The American Musicological Society is a membership-based musicological organization founded in 1934 to advance scholarly research in the various fields of music as a branch of learning and scholarship; it grew out of a small contingent of the Music Teachers National Association and, more directly,...
. Her book The Secular Commedia: Comic Mimesis in Late 18th-Century Music is planned to be completed by her colleagues based on the content of her "Bloch lectures" at Berkeley and to be published by the University of California Press
University of California Press
University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
.
Allanbrook died of cancer at age 67 on July 15, 2010, at her home in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. She was survived by a son. Her marriage to Douglas Allanbrook
Douglas Allanbrook
Douglas Allanbrook was an American composer, concert pianist and harpsichordist. He was associated with a group of mid-twentieth century Boston composers who were students of Nadia Boulanger.-Life and work:Allanbrook was born on April 1, 1921 and raised in Melrose, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston...
, a musician and composer who was a longtime professor at St. John's College, ended in divorce.