Simon Patrick Keefe (born December 24, 1968) is an English

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 ...

, author, and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

expert. Born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, he was educated at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. After being awarded his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at Columbia in 1997, he was appointed to a lectureship at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and then lectured at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

in 1999. In 2003, he took up a post at

City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...

, where he became a professor of music. In 2008, he was appointed to the James Rossiter Hoyle Chair of Music at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

. As of 2024, Keefe is also serving a three-year term as president of the

Royal Musical Association The Royal Musical Association (RMA) is a British scholarly society and charity. Founded in 1874, the Association claims to be the second oldest musicological society in the world, after that of the Netherlands. Activities include organizing and s ...

. Keefe specialises in Mozart, and is the only British member of the Salzburg-based Akademie für Mozart-Forschung of the

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum The International Mozarteum Foundation (Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum) was founded in 1880 in Salzburg with its primary concern being the life and work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Closely affiliated with the Mozarteum University Salzburg ...

, as of 2005. Keefe has also written on other composers such as

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and Beethoven, and has also studied Wagner, the concerto, and 20th-century French popular song. Keefe is a life-long fan of Aston Villa F.C.

Work and publications

Books

* ''Mozart's Piano Concertos: Dramatic Dialogue in the Age of Enlightenment'' (2001) * ''Mozart's Viennese Instrumental Music: A Study of Stylistic Re-Invention'' (2007) * ''Mozart's Requiem: Reception, Work, Completion'' (2012) * ''Mozart in Vienna: The Final Decade'' (2017)

Edited books

* ''The Cambridge Companion to Mozart'' (2003) * ''The Cambridge Companion to the Concerto'' (2005) * ''The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia'' (2006) * ''Mozart Studies'' (2006) * ''The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Music'' (2009) * ''Mozart Studies 2'' (2015) * ''Mozart'' (2015) * ''Mozart in Context'' (2018)

Media engagement

Keefe has appeared in BBC Two's film, ''Mozart in Prague: Rolando Villázon on Don Giovanni'' (2014), for which he was principal musicological consultant. He has also appeared as a contributor to two BBC Two ''Newsnight'' films (2007, 2008) and Deutsche Welle's ''In Mozart's Footsteps: London'' (2006), alongside various radio appearances.

Awards

The Mozart Society of America awarded Keefe's 2012 monograph ''Mozart's Requiem: Reception Work and Completion'' the Marjorie Weston Emerson Award in 2013, for the best book or edition published in 2011 or 2012. ''Mozart in Context'' was named one of the "best classical music book releases of 2019" by the ''BBC Music Magazine'', and received an "Outstanding Academic Title" award from the magazine ''Choice (American magazine), Choice'' (American Library Association).

Work and publications

Books

Edited books

Media engagement

Awards

References

See also