Leopold Nowak
Encyclopedia
Leopold Nowak was a musicologist chiefly known for editing the works by Anton Bruckner
for the International Bruckner Society
. He reconstructed the original form of some of those works, most of which had been revised and edited many times.
Nowak was born in Vienna
, Austria
. He studied piano and organ at the Imperial Academy of Music in Vienna. He studied musicology with Guido Adler
and Robert Lach at the Vienna University, where he later taught from 1932 to 1973.
He succeeded Robert Haas
as music director of the music collection of the Austrian National Library in 1946, and is credited with helping preserve documents about Bruckner.
Nowak's approach to editing Bruckner's music was much more scientific than Haas's. Whereas Haas for instance combined bits from the 1887 and 1890 versions of Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor
to make his edition of the work, Nowak put out two separate editions for the two versions. Nowak also wrote essays examining theoretical aspects of the music of Bruckner and others, such as an essay on the metrical and rhythmical aspects of the symphonies of Beethoven
and Bruckner.
Nowak worked on a new edition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
's famously uncompleted Requiem
, and was able through detailed scrutiny to distinguish Mozart's own handwriting from that of Süßmayr
and Eybler
to an extent no one had been able to do before. In recognition, Nowak was awarded the Goldene Mozart Medaille in 1985.
Nowak also studied the music of Heinrich Isaac
, Joseph Haydn
, Austrian church and folk music, and various Austrian composers from the Middle Ages (1480s onwards).
His work on Bruckner's music, particularly the Finale of Bruckner's Ninth Symphony
, is being continued by William Carragan.
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
for the International Bruckner Society
International Bruckner Society
The International Bruckner Society was an organization which began its existence in 1927 in Leipzig and was officially founded in 1929 in Vienna. Its main purpose since then has been to publish editions of the music of Anton Bruckner...
. He reconstructed the original form of some of those works, most of which had been revised and edited many times.
Nowak was born in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. He studied piano and organ at the Imperial Academy of Music in Vienna. He studied musicology with Guido Adler
Guido Adler
Guido Adler was a Bohemian-Austrian musicologist and writer.His father Joachim, a physician, died of typhoid fever in 1857...
and Robert Lach at the Vienna University, where he later taught from 1932 to 1973.
He succeeded Robert Haas
Robert Haas (musicologist)
Robert Maria Haas Austrian musicologist.At the beginning of his career with the Austrian national library, Haas was mostly interested in Baroque and Classical music...
as music director of the music collection of the Austrian National Library in 1946, and is credited with helping preserve documents about Bruckner.
Nowak's approach to editing Bruckner's music was much more scientific than Haas's. Whereas Haas for instance combined bits from the 1887 and 1890 versions of Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor
Symphony No. 8 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor is the last Symphony the composer completed. It exists in two major versions of 1887 and 1890. It was premiered under conductor Hans Richter in 1892 in Vienna...
to make his edition of the work, Nowak put out two separate editions for the two versions. Nowak also wrote essays examining theoretical aspects of the music of Bruckner and others, such as an essay on the metrical and rhythmical aspects of the symphonies of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
and Bruckner.
Nowak worked on a new edition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's famously uncompleted Requiem
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
, and was able through detailed scrutiny to distinguish Mozart's own handwriting from that of Süßmayr
Franz Xaver Süssmayr
Franz Xaver Süssmayr was an Austrian composer, now famous for his completion of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem.-Early life:...
and Eybler
Joseph Leopold Eybler
Joseph Leopold Eybler was an Austrian composer known today perhaps more for his friendship with Mozart than for his own music.-Life:...
to an extent no one had been able to do before. In recognition, Nowak was awarded the Goldene Mozart Medaille in 1985.
Nowak also studied the music of Heinrich Isaac
Heinrich Isaac
Heinrich Isaac was a Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer of south Netherlandish origin. He wrote masses, motets, songs , and instrumental music. A significant contemporary of Josquin des Prez, Isaac influenced the development of music in Germany...
, Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
, Austrian church and folk music, and various Austrian composers from the Middle Ages (1480s onwards).
His work on Bruckner's music, particularly the Finale of Bruckner's Ninth Symphony
Symphony No. 9 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in D minor is the last Symphony upon which he worked, leaving the last movement incomplete at the time of his death in 1896. The symphony was premiered under Ferdinand Löwe in Vienna in 1903, after Bruckner's death...
, is being continued by William Carragan.