Hermann Friedrich Oskar Kaul (11 October 1885 – 17 July 1968) was a German

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 ...

and professor at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

Life

Kaul was born in 1885 as the son of the chemist Alexander Kaul (1845-1913) and Clara Hoffmanns (b. 1855) in

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat of the district gove ...

, Bruckmühl community. After elementary school he attended a

Humanistisches Gymnasium ''Gymnasium'' (; German plural: ''Gymnasien''), in the German education system, is the most advanced and highest of the three types of German secondary schools, the others being ''Hauptschule'' (lowest) and ''Realschule'' (middle). ''Gymnas ...

in Cologne, then in 1905 he went to study music at the

Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln The Cologne University of Music () is a public university of music and dance located in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Established in 1850 as the Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln, it is one of the largest music academies in Europe, w ...

there. Among others, he was student of Max van de Sandt, Lazzaro Uzielli, Fritz Steinbach, Ewald Straeßer and Waldemar von Baußnern. At the same time he studied German literature and philosophy at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

. In 1908 he moved to the

Hochschule für Musik und Theater München The University of Music and Theatre Munich (), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts music school, conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is the former ''Führerbau'' of the NSDAP, locate ...

and studied

musicology 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, ...

among others with Adolf Sandberger and Theodor Kroyer. He also became a member of the . Kaul obtained his

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 ...

there in 1911 with a dissertation on ''The vocal works of Antonio Rosetti''. A one-year teaching position at the Krefeld Conservatory was followed in 1912 by a call to the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg. Ten years later he was

habilitated Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellen ...

with a

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

on the ''History of the Würzburger Hofmusik im 18 Jahrhundert''. In the summer he finally gave lectures - for the first time in the history of the Würzburg Music School - on historical musicology. Kaul strove to expand musicology and achieved this goal: in 1928 he was appointed extraordinary professor. In the Third Reich the topic became more important for ideological reasons. In 1941, at Kaul's insistence, a regular musicological seminar was approved and established by the

Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture The Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture (, also unofficially known as the "Reich Education Ministry" (), or "REM") existed from 1934 until 1945 under the leadership of Bernhard Rust and was responsible for unifying the education syste ...

in Würzburg for the first Academic quarter; he himself was appointed to the seminar board. During this time, from 1942 to 1944, he was also active in the Würzburg music scene as of the Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers SS. During the Second World War Kaul left the university. In 1957 he was co-founder of the , whose chairman he was until 1967. On 17 July 1968 Kaul died at the age of 82 in Unterwössen, Upper Bavaria.

Publications

* 1980: ''Musica Herbipolensis. Aus Würzburgs musikalischer Vergangenheit''. Publisher: Frohmut Dangel-Hofmann. Gress, Marktbreit, . * 1968: ''Thematisches Verzeichnis der Instrumentalwerke von Anton Rosetti''. Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden. * 1935: ''Zur Musikgeschichte der ehemaligen Reichsstadt Schweinfurt''. Becker, Würzburg. * 1925: ''Von deutscher Tonkunst. Eine Auslese aus dem musikalischen Schrifttum''. R. Oldenbourg, Munich, . * 1924: ''Geschichte der Würzburger Hofmusik im 18.Jahrhundert''. C.F. Becker, Würzburg, (habilitation text). * 1911: ''Die Vokalwerke Anton Rosettis''.''Die Vokalwerke Anton Rosettis''
on WorldCat Greven & Bechtold (Dissertation).

References

External links

*
Kaul, Oskar
on {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaul, Oskar 1885 births 1968 deaths People from Rosenheim 20th-century German musicologists German music historians Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg