Manfred Fritz Bukofzer (27 March 1910 – 7 December 1955) was a German-born American

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

Life and career

He studied at Heidelberg University and the Stern conservatory in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, but left Germany in 1933 for Switzerland, where he obtained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from the University of Basel in 1936. In 1939 he moved to the United States where he remained, becoming a U.S. citizen. He taught at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

from 1941 until his premature death from

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

. Bukofzer is best known as a historian of early music, particularly of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

era. His book ''Music in the Baroque Era'' is still one of the standard reference works on the topic, although some modern historians assert that it has a Germanic bias – for example, in minimizing the importance of

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

(Italian by origin) during the development of musical style in the 17th century. In addition to Baroque music, he was a specialist in English music and music theory of the 14th through 16th centuries. His other scholarly interests included

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

. Furthermore, during his time at Berkeley, Bukofzer conducted several successful operas, including ''The Beggar's Opera'', ''Dido and Aeneas'', and ''Village Barber''. Among his influential students was Leonard Ratner. He was married to Ilse Kämmerer.

Selected bibliography

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References

Citations

Sources

External links

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Bukofzer Collection
at the University of California, Berkeley 1910 births 1955 deaths Deaths from multiple myeloma in California Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States University of California, Berkeley faculty 20th-century American musicologists 20th-century German musicologists People from Oldenburg (city) Scholars of Baroque music Du Fay scholars Dunstaple scholars Schütz scholars Pupils of Paul Hindemith {{Germany-musicologist-stub