Max Graf (; 1 October 1873 – 24 June 1958) was an Austrian music historian and critic. He was born in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, the son of Josef and Regine (Lederer) Graf.
His father was a political writer and editor. Graf was described as the "dean of music critics in Vienna" in the first part of the 20th century.
Career
Graf's book ''Composer and Critic'' is noted for its amicable style with M. A. Schubart of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' stating: "Dr. Graf has written a charming, comprehensive, intelligent treatise on music criticism, drawing generously on his own large supply of knowledge and experience ... The only major issue which I cannot reach agreement with Dr. Graf is his manner. He is much too polite. No subject in the world deserves more rudeness than music criticism." Countering this impression, Graf published a deeply critical review of a Metropolitan Opera production produced by his son in 1946.
In the introduction to ''Composer and Critic'', Graf details his original interest in music criticism as having stemmed from attending the lectures of
Anton Bruckner
Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...
in Vienna.
Graf is also notable for his role in the history of
psychoanalysis
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...
as the father of
Little Hans, whose treatment was described by
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
.
His first wife and Little Hans' mother, Olga Hönig, was one of Freud's patients.
Graf was Jewish and fled Vienna for the United States in 1938, where he taught at the New School for Social Research in New York City until 1947, when he returned to Vienna. He died there in 1958.
Works
* ''Wagner-Probleme, und andere Studien'', 1900
* ''Die Musik im Zeitalter der Renaissance'', 1905
* ''Die innere Werkstatt des Musikers'', 1910
* ''Richard Wagner im "Fliegenden Holländer": ein Beitrag zur Psychologie künstlerischen Schaffens'', 1911
* ''Legend of a musical city'', 1945
* ''Composer and critic: Two hundred years of musical criticism'', 1946
* ''Modern music: Composers and music of our time'', 1946
* ''From Beethoven to Shostakovich: The psychology of the composing process'', 1947
* ''Geschichte und Geist der modernen Musik'', 1953
* ''Die Wiener Oper'', 1955
See also
*
Psychoanalysis and music
References
1873 births
1958 deaths
Austrian male composers
Austrian composers
Austrian music historians
Austrian music critics
Austrian musicologists
Analysands of Sigmund Freud
{{Musicologist-stub