Curt Sachs
Curt Sachs (German: [zaks]; 29 June 1881 – 5
February 1959) was a German musicologist. He was Curt Sachs
one of the founders of modern organology (the study
of musical instruments). Among his contributions was
the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which he created with
Erich von Hornbostel.
Biography
Born in Berlin, Sachs studied piano, music theory and
composition as a youth in that city. However, his
doctorate from Berlin University (where he was later
professor of musicology) in 1904 was on the history of
art, with his thesis on the sculpture of Verrocchio. He
began a career as an art historian, but promptly became
more devoted to music, eventually being appointed
director of the Staatliche Instrumentensammlung, a
large collection of musical instruments. He reorganised
Sachs in 1935
and restored much of the collection, and his career as
an organologist began.[1] Born June 29, 1881
Berlin, German Empire
In 1913, Sachs saw the publication of his book Real- Died February 5, 1959 (aged 77)
Lexicon der Musikinstrumente, probably the most New York, New York, US
comprehensive survey of musical instruments in 200
years. The following year, he and Erich Moritz von Academic background
Hornbostel published the work for which they are Education Französisches Gymnasium
probably now best known in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, Alma mater Berlin University
a new system of musical instrument classification. It is
Academic work
today known as the Sachs-Hornbostel system. It has
Discipline Organology
been much revised over the years, and has been the
subject of some criticism, but it remains the most Institutions Staatliche
widely used system of classification by Instrumentensammlung
ethnomusicologists and organologists. New York University
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Sachs was Notable "Systematik der
dismissed from his posts in Germany by the Nazi Party works Musikinstrumente" (1914)
because he was a Jew. As a result, he moved to Paris, The History of Musical
and later to the United States, where he settled in New Instruments (1940)
York City. From 1937 to 1953 he taught at New York
University, and also worked at the New York Public Library. In 1953, he was appointed adjunct professor
at Columbia University, a post he held until his death in 1959. He was a member of the American
Musicological Society and served as president from 1948 to 1950.
His numerous books include works on rhythm, dance and musical instruments, with his The History of
Musical Instruments (1940), a comprehensive survey of musical instruments worldwide throughout
history, seen as one of the most important. The long relationship he had with W. W. Norton & Company
began with The Rise of Music in the Ancient World (1943).[2] Although these works have been superseded
by more recent research in some respects, they are still seen as essential texts in the field.[3]
Sachs died in 1959 in New York City. In honor of Sachs' legacy, the American Musical Instrument
Society established the Curt Sachs Award (https://web.archive.org/web/20140226050238/http://amis.org/
awards/sachs/index.html) in 1983, which it gives each year to an individual who has made significant
contributions to field of organology.
See also
Berlin Musical Instrument Museum
State Institute for Music Research
References
1. "Curt Sachs | Musicology, Ethnomusicology, Music Historian | Britannica" (https://www.britan
nica.com/biography/Curt-Sachs). www.britannica.com. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
2. Allen, Warren Dwight (1962), "Philosophies of Music History - A Study of General Histories
of Music - 1600-1960", pg vi, Dover 0-486-20282-8
3. Marcel-Dubois, Claudie (1960). "Curt Sachs" (https://www.jstor.org/stable/835452). Journal
of the International Folk Music Council. 12: 88–89. ISSN 0950-7922 (https://search.worldcat.
org/issn/0950-7922).
Further reading
Bredow, Moritz von. 2012. "Rebellische Pianistin. Das Leben der Grete Sultan zwischen
Berlin und New York." (Biography). Schott Music, Mainz, Germany. ISBN 978-3-7957-0800-
9 (Contains important references to Curt Sachs, who became a most helpful friend of pianist
Grete Sultan, as Professor in Berlin and New York).
External links
Works by or about Curt Sachs (https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%28subject%3
A%22Sachs%2C%20Curt%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Curt%20Sachs%22%20OR%20
creator%3A%22Sachs%2C%20Curt%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Curt%20Sachs%22%
20OR%20creator%3A%22Sachs%2C%20C%2E%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Curt%20Sac
hs%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Sachs%2C%20Curt%22%20OR%20description%3
A%22Curt%20Sachs%22%29%20OR%20%28%221881-1959%22%20AND%20Sachs%2
9%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29) at the Internet Archive
Curt Sachs card files (http://archives.nypl.org/dan/23893) Jerome Robbins Dance Division,
The New York Public Library.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curt_Sachs&oldid=1259837975"
