Manfred Hermann Schmid (10 August 1947 – 5 October 2021) was a German

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

and Mozart expert.

Life

Schmid was born in Ottobeuren into a musical family (the father

Ernst Fritz Schmid Ernst Fritz Schmid (7 March 1904 – 20 January 1960) was a German musicologist and Mozart scholar. Life Born in Tübingen, Schmid was the son of Wilhelm Schmid from Graz and grandson of Karl Emil Kauffmann. Initially, Schmid studied violin, v ...

was already ''Ordinarius'' for musicology at the

Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

). Schmid decided after his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen yea ...

first to study violin at the Leopold Mozart Centre in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the '' ...

with the , before studying musicology, philosophy and

history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic vis ...

at the universities of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. He studied musicology with

Gerhard Croll Gerhard Croll (25 May 1927 – 26 October 2019) was a German-Austrian musicologist. Life Born in Düsseldorf, Croll studied Kapellmeister at the Robert Schumann Hochschule and musicology with Rudolf Gerber at the University of Münster. He re ...

, Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht and Thrasybulos Georgiades, whose last doctoral student was Schmid. In 1975 Schmid was awarded a doctorate with a thesis on "Mozart and the Salzburg tradition". His

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including ...

was awarded in 1980 on the subject of "Music as an image. Studies on the work of

Weber Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'. Notable pe ...

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

and

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

". Schmid has held various teaching positions at the Universities of Munich and Bayreuth, the music academies in Munich and Augsburg, as well as a position as director of the Munich Musical Instrument Museum. In 1986 Schmid was appointed full professor of musicology at the

as successor to

Georg von Dadelsen Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 * Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) George is a surname of Irish, English, Welsh, South Indian Christian, Middle Eastern Christian (usually Lebanese), French, o ...

. In 1992/93 he was visiting professor at the University of Salzburg. On the occasion of his 60th birthday in 2007, a symposium entitled "Mozart in the Center" was held in Tübingen. Schmid has been retired since October 2012. However, he regularly held teaching positions at the universities of Munich and Vienna. Since 2010 he has been chairman of the Academy for Mozart Research at the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg. Schmid is considered an internationally renowned Mozart expert, but in his work he devoted himself to the entire European musical tradition from

ancient music Ancient music refers to the musical cultures and practices that developed in the literate civilizations of the ancient world. Succeeding the music of prehistoric societies and lasting until the Post-classical era, major centers of Ancient m ...

new music New music may refer to: Musical styles and movements Pre-20th century * Ars nova, musical style in 14th-century France and the Low Countries * ''Le nuove musiche'', collection of monody by Giulio Caccini * New German School, music style in late 1 ...

. However, his main focus lies on the music of the First Viennese School, the German Romantic music and the

Renaissance music Renaissance music is traditionally understood to cover European music of the 15th and 16th centuries, later than the Renaissance era as it is understood in other disciplines. Rather than starting from the early 14th-century '' ars nova'', the T ...

. Further fields of interest of Schmid were besides the general historical musicology especially the

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

, the

notation In linguistics and semiotics, a notation is a system of graphics or symbols, characters and abbreviated expressions, used (for example) in artistic and scientific disciplines to represent technical facts and quantities by convention. Therefore, ...

and the

Ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

. Schmid was editor of the ''Mozart Studies'' (, until 2013, 22nd volume with Schneider, Tutzing, since 2015 with Hollitzer, Vienna) and the ''Tübinger Beiträge zur Musikwissenschaft''.

External links

*
Website des Musikwissenschaftlichen Instituts der Universität Tübingen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmid, Manfred Hermann 20th-century German musicologists 21st-century German musicologists Academic staff of the University of Tübingen Mozart scholars 1947 births 2021 deaths Writers from Unterallgäu