 |
Erwin BodkyAmerican harpsichordist and musicologist of German origin.
Date of Birth: 07.03.1896
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Ludwig Altman Bodky: A Pioneer in the Revival of Early Music
- Career in Germany
- Academic and Performance Activities
- Exile and Career in the United States
- Significance and Legacy
Ludwig Altman Bodky: A Pioneer in the Revival of Early Music
Early Life and EducationBorn in Germany in 1891 to Louis Bodky, a lawyer, Erwin Bodky began his musical education at age 16 at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik and the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory. Noted teachers included Ferruccio Busoni, Karl Heinrich Barth, Ernst von Dohnányi, and Pavel Yuon. Bodky emerged as one of only three students to be tutored in composition by the legendary Richard Strauss.
Career in Germany
Embarking on a concert career in 1922, Bodky became a professor at his alma mater, the Hochschule für Musik, in 1926, while simultaneously holding the same position at the Academy of Church Music. During this period, he composed several works, including a string quartet, piano quintet, and piano concerto.
Bodky's interest in early music led him to delve into original editions and historical instruments. His diverging from Busoni's approach to performing Johann Sebastian Bach's works in original versions caused a rift between the two.
Academic and Performance Activities
In 1926 and 1932, Bodky lectured extensively on early music in Germany and the Netherlands. He founded the Collegium musicum, an ensemble dedicated to the performance of 17th- and 18th-century composers. In 1932, his book "Der Vortrag alter Klaviermusik" was published, marking a milestone in the scholarship of early keyboard performance.
Exile and Career in the United States
With the rise of Nazi power in 1933, Bodky left Germany for Amsterdam and eventually emigrated to the United States in 1938. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1943, he co-founded the Cambridge Collegium Musicum and directed it until his death. Bodky's performances on historical instruments (harpsichord, clavichord, hammerklavier) were meticulously annotated and published posthumously in "Erwin Bodky: A Memorial Tribute" (1965).
Significance and Legacy
Bodky's insights into the performance of Bach's keyboard music were seminal. His groundbreaking work, "Interpretation of Bach's Keyboard Music," published posthumously in 1960, has been translated into multiple languages and has influenced generations of musicians. Bodky's ideas were also disseminated through Yakov Milstein's "The Well-Tempered Clavier of J.S. Bach" (1967).
An annual Bodky Competition in Cambridge commemorates his role as a promoter of early music. Bodky's contributions to the revival of early music remain a lasting legacy in the field of musicology and performance practice.
