Theodore Baker (June 3, 1851"Passed Away," ''Musical America'' (Nov. 10, 1934), p. 32."Dr. Theodore Baker," ''Musical Courier'' (Nov. 3, 1934), p. 20. – October 12, 1934)"Theodore Baker," ''Reports of Deaths of Americans Abroad, 1835-1974'' (death certificate)
available through Ancestry.com (access by subscription). Most biographical entries in reference works provide his death date incorrectly as October 13. was an American

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 ...

Biography

Born June 3, 1851, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Baker's early education occurred there and in Boston. He studied business but turned to music as a career, becoming an organist in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...

. In 1874, he moved to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

where he studied with Oscar Paul. He attended

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...

beginning in 1878 where he was awarded a doctorate in 1881. His dissertation, published in 1882 as ''Über die Musik der nordamerikanischen Wilden'' (''On the music of the North American Indians''), dealt with the music of the Seneca Indians, and was the first major work published on the music of American Indians. (Themes included in the work were used by

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites '' Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and ''Ne ...

in his ''Indian Suite''.) The material for his book was a result of Baker's living with the Seneca tribe in

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, where he was initiated as a member of the tribe and thus had incomparable access to resources for the study of their songs and dances. In 1890, Baker returned to the United States. In 1892, he became literary editor for the music publisher G. Schirmer, a job he held until 1926. During his tenure he translated a considerable body of books and '' libretti'' into English, and wrote often in the '' Musical Quarterly'', a Schirmer publication. He published ''Baker's Dictionary of Musical Terms'' (1895) and most notably, ''

Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'' is a major reference work in the field of music, originally compiled by Theodore Baker, PhD, and published in 1900 by G. Schirmer, Inc. The ninth edition, the most recent edition, was published in ...

'' (1900), which was revised after his death by Nicolas Slonimsky and then Laura Kuhn; as of 2007 is in its ninth edition. He translated Oscar Paul's ''A Manual of Harmony For Use in Music-Schools and Seminaries and For Self-Instruction'' (1885) and numerous other works published by Schirmer. After his retirement in 1926, Baker moved with his wife to Germany due to his wife's ill health. They made their home in

at the American Consulate. She predeceased him on September 3, 1934. He died on October 13, 1934, aged 83, at Dr. Teuscher's Sanatorium, in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

References

Notes

*Baker, Theodore. ''Über die Musik der nordamerikanischen Wilden''. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1882. *Baker, Theodore. ''On the Music of the North American Indians''. Reprint with translation. New York: Da Capo Press, 1977. *"Dr. Theodore Baker," ''Musical Courier'' (Nov. 3, 1934), p. 20. *"Passed Away," ''Musical America'' (Nov. 10, 1934), p. 32. * H. Wiley Hitchcock, "Theodore Baker". ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'' (access through subscription). *

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

, ed. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', Volume 2, p. 45-6 (1980)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Theodore 1851 births 1934 deaths American musicologists American publishers (people) American translators American expatriates in Germany