Theodore Albrecht (b. September 24, 1945; d. June 11, 2025) was a music historian who specialized in the life and music of
Ludwig van 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 ...
.
Biography
Albrecht was born in
Jamestown, New York
Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamesto ...
, and grew up in
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
. He was a 1967 graduate of
St. Mary's University in San Antonio (B.M.E., music education) and of North Texas State University (now
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...
) in
Denton, Texas
Denton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, Denton County. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the List of cities in Texas by population, 20th-most populous city in Texas, the List of Un ...
in 1969 (M.M., musicology and music literature) and 1975 (Ph.D., musicology and history).
After teaching at various colleges across the United States, Albrecht joined the faculty of
Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...
in 1992.
Albrecht's scholarly papers were published in music journals including ''Journal of the Conductor's Guild'' and ''The Beethoven Journal'',
Ludwig van 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 ...
to communicate in the later stages of his life. Albrecht uncovered evidence that the degree of Beethoven's hearing loss was not as absolute as previously believed.[ He was also responsible for the identification, to the satisfaction of most scholars, of the pseudonymous author of the text of Beethoven's song " Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel," a longstanding mystery.][For details, see Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel.]
Albrecht gave lectures before performances of various music ensembles, notably the Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...
and Opera Cleveland.[
]
Bibliography
* Volume 1: ; Volume 2: ; Volume 3:
* Volume 1: (2018); Volume 2: (2019); Volume 3: (2020); Volume 4: (2022)
*
References
External links
*
Texas classical music
Beethoven scholars
1945 births
Living people
American music historians
American male non-fiction writers
St. Mary's University, Texas alumni
University of North Texas College of Music alumni
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