Eva Badura-Skoda (née Halfar; 15 January 1929 – 8 January 2021) was a German-born Austrian musicologist.
Biography
Born in Munich, Eva Halfar studied at the Vienna Conservatory and took courses in musicology, philosophy, and art history at the universities of
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...
,
Vienna
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( Erich Schenk), and Innsbruck (Ph.D., 1953, with the thesis ''Studien zur Geschichte des Musikunterrichtes in Österreich im 16., 17. und 18. Jahrhundert'').
In 1951 she married Paul Badura-Skoda, with whom she collaborated on the volumes ''Mozart-Interpretation'' (Vienna, 1957; English transl., 1961; 2nd edition, rev., 1996) and '' Bach-Interpretation'' (Laaber, 1990; English transl., 1992). The couple had four children, including the pianist Michael Badura-Skoda (1964–2001); they separated later.
In 1962 and 1963 she led summer seminars at the Salzburg Mozarteum. In 1964 she was the Brittingham visiting professor at the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
, where she served as professor of musicology from 1966 to 1974. She was a visiting professor at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...
in Montreal (1981–82), and the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
(1982–83). In 1986 she was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art by the Austrian government.
Badura-Skoda contributed many articles to books, reference works, and journals, and also edited scores by Haydn,
Dittersdorf
Dittersdorf is a municipality in the district Saale-Orla-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany. On 1 December 2010 it absorbed the former municipality Dragensdorf.Mozart, and Schubert.
With
Peter Branscombe
Peter John Branscombe (7 December 1929 in Sittingbourne, Kent – 31 December 2008 in St Andrews, Scotland) was an English academic in German studies, a musicologist, and a writer on Austrian cultural history.
Career
Branscombe attended Dul ...
, she edited the volume ''Schubert Studies: Problems of Style and Chronology'' (Cambridge, 1982). She also edited the report of the international Haydn congress held in Vienna in 1982 (Munich, 1986) and was an editor of a volume on ''Schubert and his friends'' (Cologne and Vienna, 1999).
The book ''Mozart-Interpretation'', written with co-author Paul Badura-Skoda, is a detailed study of textual and performance issues which are of importance to the serious pianist, but also to any listener desiring insight into the significant issues that a pianist must deal with when presenting Mozart piano works.
Badura-Skoda died in Vienna on 8 January 2021, aged 91."Cemetery search" (search for "Badura Eva")
Selected bibliography
* ''Schubert studies: problems of style and chronology''; edited by Eva Badura-Skoda and Peter Branscombe. Cambridge University Press, 1982. xiv, 369 p.
* ''Proceedings of the International Joseph Haydn Congress Joseph Haydn'' (''Bericht über den Internationalen Joseph Haydn Kongress'') Vienna Hofburg, 5–12 September 1982. Munich: Henle, 1986.
* ''Interpreting Mozart: the performance of his piano pieces and other compositions'' by Eva and Paul Badura-Skoda. 2nd edition, New York/London. Routledge 2008, xvii, 474 p. 1 CD-ROM.