H. Wiley Hitchcock
Encyclopedia
Hugh Wiley Hitchcock was an American musicologist. He is best known for founding the Institute for Studies in American Music at Brooklyn College
of the City University of New York
in 1971. The insititue was recently renamed the Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music in his honor.
Hitchcock received a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College
in 1944 and an M.A. from the University of Michigan
in 1948. After study under Nadia Boulanger
in Paris
, he took his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan
in 1954. He taught there from 1950-1961 and then at Hunter College
from 1961 to 1971. He taught in the CUNY system until 1993, when he retired. He served as president of the Music Library Association
, 1966-1967, the Charles Ives
Society, 1973-1993, and the American Musicological Society
, 1990-1992.
Hitchcock did much work on music of the early Baroque
in France and Italy, especially on Marc-Antoine Charpentier
. He also made important contributions to the understanding of musical traditions in America, both popular and cultivated, and his text in this field is a standard reference work. In addition to Charles Ives, he focused particular attention on contemporary American composers including Virgil Thomson
, John Cage
, and Henry Cowell
. He was the co-editor of the New Grove Dictionary of American Music and a consultant for American music for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
in 1971. The insititue was recently renamed the Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music in his honor.
Hitchcock received a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in 1944 and an M.A. from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1948. After study under Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he took his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1954. He taught there from 1950-1961 and then at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
from 1961 to 1971. He taught in the CUNY system until 1993, when he retired. He served as president of the Music Library Association
Music Library Association
The Music Library Association is the main professional organization for music libraries and librarians . It also serves corporations, institutions, students, composers, scholars and others whose work and interests lie in the music librarianship field...
, 1966-1967, the Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
Society, 1973-1993, and the American Musicological Society
American Musicological Society
The American Musicological Society is a membership-based musicological organization founded in 1934 to advance scholarly research in the various fields of music as a branch of learning and scholarship; it grew out of a small contingent of the Music Teachers National Association and, more directly,...
, 1990-1992.
Hitchcock did much work on music of the early Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
in France and Italy, especially on Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, , was a French composer of the Baroque era.Exceptionally prolific and versatile, he produced compositions of the highest quality in several genres...
. He also made important contributions to the understanding of musical traditions in America, both popular and cultivated, and his text in this field is a standard reference work. In addition to Charles Ives, he focused particular attention on contemporary American composers including Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...
, John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, and Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell was an American composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. His contribution to the world of music was summed up by Virgil Thomson, writing in the early 1950s:...
. He was the co-editor of the New Grove Dictionary of American Music and a consultant for American music for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
External Links
- H. Wiley Hitchcock Papers, 1949-2007 Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Books
- The Latin Oratorios of Marc-Antoine Charpentier (dissertation, U. of Michigan, 1954)
- Music in the United States: a Historical Introduction (1969; 4th ed., 1999)
- (ed., with V. Perlis) An Ives Celebration (Brooklyn, NY, and New Haven, CT, 1974)
- After 100 [!] Years: the Editorial Side of Sonneck (Washington DC, 1975)
- Ives (London, 1977, 3rd ed. 1988)
- (with L. Inserra) The Music of Henry Ainsworth’s Psalter (Brooklyn, NY, 1981)
- Les oeuvres de Marc-Antoine Charpentier: catalogue raisonné (Paris, 1982)
- Marc-Antoine Charpentier (Oxford, 1990)
- Charles Ives: 129 Songs (New York City, 2004)