Richard Specht (7 December 1870,

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. ...

– 18 March 1932) was an Austrian

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

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 writer. Specht, who had studied music with Ignaz Brüll,

Alexander von Zemlinsky Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871 – 15 March 1942) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher. Biography Early life Zemlinsky was born in Vienna to a highly diverse family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton ...

, and

Franz Schreker Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, librettist, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic pluralit ...

, is most well known for his writings on classical music, and in his time was seen as a leading music journalist. He was a great authority on the music of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

, and in later life became a regular acquaintance of his widow,

Alma Mahler-Werfel Alma Mahler-Werfel (born Alma Margaretha Maria Schindler; 31 August 1879 – 11 December 1964) was an Austrian composer, author, editor, and socialite. Musically active from her early years, she was the composer of nearly fifty songs for voice ...

. He was, amongst other things, a contributor to the ''Wiener Illustrierten Extrablatts'' and other Viennese newspapers, as well as a correspondent for the Berlin-based music magazine ''

Die Musik ''Die Musik'' was a German music magazine established in 1901 by Bernhard Schuster (1870–1934). It was published semimonthly by Schuster & Loeffler from Berlin and Leipzig. Schuster was its editor-in-chief from inception until July 1933, when th ...

''. In 1909, Specht founded the periodical ''Der Merker,'' for which he served as editor until July 1914 and again from May 1918 to October 1919 and collaborating with

Richard Batka Richard Batka (14 December 1868 – 24 April 1922) was an Austrian musicologist, music critic and librettist. Educated at German Charles-Ferdinand University in his native city of Prague, he began his career as a lecturing academic at that instit ...

. In 1925, he was appointed to a professorship at the institution that is now the

University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...

Works

Fiction

* Gedichte (1893) * Das Gastmahl des Plato, Drama (1895) * Pierrot bossu, Drama (1896) * Mozart, twelve poems (1914) * Florestan Kestners Erfolg, a story (1929) * Die Nase des Herrn Valentin Berger, Drama (1929)

Academic works

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

(1909) *

(1913) * Das Wiener Operntheater - ''Fifty years of memories'' (1919) *

Die Frau ohne Schatten ' (''The Woman without a Shadow''), Op. 65, is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917. When it premiered at the V ...

- ''Introduction to the music'' (1919) *

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

and his work (1921) * Julius Bittner (1921) * Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek - ''A preliminary study'' (1922) *

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. He is considered one of the most significant representatives of Viennese Modernism. Schnitzler’s works, which include psychological dramas and narratives ...

- ''The poet and his work. A study'' (1922) *

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...

(1922) *

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of '' The Forty ...

(1926) * ''

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

: Leben und Werk eines deutschen Meisters'' (1928; English translation by

Eric Blom Eric Walter Blom (20 August 188811 April 1959) was a Swiss-born British-naturalised music lexicographer, music critic and writer. He is best known as the editor of the 5th edition of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1954). Earl ...

) * ''Bildnis

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

s'' (1931; English translation, 1933) *

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

. Das Leben, der Mensch, das Werk (1931; English translation, 1933)

References

External links

* * 19th-century Austrian people Austrian male writers Austrian lyricists Austrian musicologists Austrian Jews Pupils of Franz Schreker Writers from Vienna 1870 births 1932 deaths People from Austria-Hungary Beethoven scholars Brahms scholars Mahler scholars Puccini scholars Schoenberg scholars Schreker scholars Strauss scholars Zemlinsky scholars {{Austria-music-bio-stub