Merian, Wilhelm

views updated

Merian, Wilhelm

Merian, Wilhelm, Swiss musicologist; b. Basel, Sept. 18, 1889; d. there, Nov. 15, 1952. He studied with Nef at the Univ. of Basel (Ph.D., 1915, with the diss. Die Tabulaturen des Organisten Hans Kotter: Ein Beitrag zur Musikgeschichte des beginnenden 16. Jahrhunderts; publ. in Leipzig, 1916). He subsequently completed his Habilitation there in 1921 with his Die Klaviermusik der deutschen Koloristen, and joined its faculty that same year. From 1920 to 1951 he was music critic and music ed. of the Basler Nachrichten.With Paul Sacher, he helped to found the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (1933).

Writings

Ed. Gedenkschrift zum 50 jährigen Bestehen der Allgemeinen Musikschule in Basel (1917); Basels Musikleben im XIX. Jahrhundert (1920); Der Tanz in den deutschen Tabulaturbuchern. ..(1927); Hermann Suter: Ein Lebensbild als Beitrag zur schweizerischen Musikgeschichte (1936).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire