Percy Goetschius (August 10, 1853 – October 29, 1943) was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher who won international fame in the teaching of

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

and

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

Career

Goetschius was born in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Ureli Corelli Hill, a well-known conductor and violinist at the time, who was a friend of the Goetschius family. Young Goetschius held the positions of organist at Paterson's Second Presbyterian Church from 1868 to 1870 and at the same city's First Presbyterian Church from 1870 to 1873, as well as that of pianist to Mr. Benson's Paterson Choral Society. Although his family had intended him to become a surveyor's assistant, he went to

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

(Germany), in 1873 to study composition and music theory at the Royal Conservatory with

Immanuel Faisst Immanuel Gottlob Friedrich Faisst (13 October 1823 in Esslingen am Neckar – 5 June 1894 in Stuttgart) was a German composer and co-founder of the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, Stuttgart Music School, whose director he ...

, and soon advanced to become Faisst's teaching assistant and eventually a professor. In 1885, King Charles of Württemberg conferred upon him the title of Royal Professor. He composed much, and also reviewed musical performances for the Stuttgart and broader German press.

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

conferred an Honorary Music Doctorate on Goetschius for the academic year 1892–1893. In 1892, he took a position in the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and four years later opened a studio in that city. In 1905, he went to the staff of the Institute of Musical Art (which later merged into

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

) in New York City, headed by

Frank Damrosch Frank Heino Damrosch (June 22, 1859 – October 22, 1937) was a German-born American music conductor and educator. In 1905, Damrosch founded the New York Institute of Musical Art, a predecessor of the Juilliard School. Life and career Damrosch ...

. Goetschius retired from the Institute in 1925 and spent the remainder of his life in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

, continuing to write into his eighties. Goetschius's notable pupils include Pauline Alderman,

Henry Cowell Henry Dixon Cowell (; March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher, teacher Marchioni, Tonimarie (2012)"Henry Cowell: A Life Stranger Than Fiction" ''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 19 June 2022.C ...

, Lillian Fuchs,

Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator and music theorist. As director for forty year ...

Swan Hennessy Edward Swan Hennessy (24 November 1866 – 26 October 1929) was an Irish-American composer and pianist who lived much of his life in Paris. In his pre-War piano music, he excelled as a miniaturist in descriptive, Program music, programmatic music. ...

, Julia Klumpke, Daniel Gregory Mason, Wallingford Riegger, Bernard Rogers, Alice Marion Shaw, Carrie Burpee Shaw, Arthur Shepherd, and Milton Suskind. Although Goetschius as a teacher had a fundamentally conservative outlook, he appears to have been sensitive and supportive towards his students' individuality, encouraging, for example, Henry Cowell's early experiments with tone clusters.

Selected music theory textbooks

Goetschius published several textbooks on theory, including: * ''The Material Used in Musical Composition'' (New York: G. Schirmer) :: 1st ed. (1882); :
2nd ed.alternate link
(1889) :
4th ed.
(1895) :
8th ed.
(1907); :
14th ed.1941 print
(1913, 1915, 1941); , * ''The Theory and Practice of Tone-Relations'' (Boston:

, 1892); :: 11th ed. New York: G. Schirmer (1913); :
15th ed.
(1917) :: 24th ed., New York: G. Schirmer (1931); * ''Models of the Principal Musical Forms'' (Boston:

, 1892); *
Lessons in Music Form
'' Boston:

Oliver Ditson Oliver Ditson (October 20, 1811 – December 21, 1888) was an American businessman and founder of Oliver Ditson and Company, one of the major music publishing houses of the late 19th century. Early life and career Oliver Ditson was born in Bos ...

(1904) * ''Exercises in Melody Writing'' (New York: G. Schirmer) :
1st ed.
(1900); :
2nd ed.
(1903) :: ?? ed. (1905); :
6th ed.
(1908) :: 7th ed. (1910) :: 11th ed. (1923) :: ?? ed. (1928); * ''The Larger Forms of Musical Composition'' (New York: G. Schirmer) :: 5th ed. (1915); :: 7th ed. (1915); * ''The Homophonic Forms of Musical Composition'' (New York: G. Schirmer) :
1st ed.
(1898) :: ? ed. (1901); :
3rd ed.
(1905) :: 3rd ed. (1908) :: 4th ed. (1907); :
7th ed.
(1913) :
8th ed.
(1915); :
9th ed.
(1918); :
10th ed.
(1921) :: 11th ed. (1923) * ''Music Theory for Piano Students'', co-authored with Clarence Grant Hamilton, John P. Marshall, Will Earhart (Boston:

) :: (1924); :: ?? (1930) * ''Exercises in Elementary Counterpoint'' ( G. Schirmer) :: 5th ed. (1910); * ''Counterpoint'' (New York: G. Schirmer, 1930) * ''The Structure of Music'' (Philadelphia: T. Presser, 1934) As of the mid-20th century, use of Goetschius' books, as texts, is rare; albeit, the books contain original theoretical ideas and pedagogical approaches that endure today.

Goetschius' theory of harmonic progression

Perhaps the most important theory put forth by Goetschius is that of natural harmonic progression, which first appeared in ''The Theory and Practice of Tone-Relations''. According to Goetschius' theory, the triad V in a key resolves to the tonic triad I because of the acoustically perfect interval of the fifth between the root of V and that of I: Goetschius believed that, since the upper tone of the fifth is a

harmonic In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...

of the lower, a chord rooted on the upper tone demands to be "resolved" by progressing to the chord rooted on the lower tone. Moreover, this theory is extended to other chords in a key, so that the normal tendency of a chord ( triad or

seventh chord A seventh chord is a chord (music), chord consisting of a triad (music), triad plus a note forming an interval (music), interval of a Interval (music), seventh above the chord's root (chord), root. When not otherwise specified, a "seventh chord" ...

) in a key is to progress to the chord rooted a fifth lower.

Family

He was married twice, the second time to Maria C. C. Stephany on June 14, 1899. He had two children. Percy Goetschius died at his home in

on October 29, 1943.

References

General

*
Percy Goetschius, Theorist and Teacher
' (Ph.D. dissertation), by Mother Catherine Agnes Carroll, RSCJ (1910–1996),

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

(1961);

Note: Mother Carroll had been a long-standing music professor at Manhattanville College

* ''A History of Harmonic Theory in the United States,'' by David M. Thompson (PhD) (born 1951),

Kent State University Press Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia ...

(1980);

As of 2017, Thompson is Professor Emeritus at Marian University,

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Fond du Lac () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the southern end of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 44,678 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Fond du Lac met ...

, where he taught music theory, history, music administration, and American music

Inline citations

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goetschius, Percy 1853 births 1943 deaths 19th-century American male musicians 19th-century American classical composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical composers American male classical composers American male writers American people of Swiss descent American textbook writers Classical musicians from New Jersey Juilliard School faculty Musicians from Paterson, New Jersey New England Conservatory faculty State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart alumni Academic staff of the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart