Reviews and Reports

Anne Smith, Ina Lohr (1903-1983). Transcending the Boundaries of Early Music

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21827/ejlw.10.37923

Keywords:

book review

Abstract

This is a book that had to be written. And that is meant in a thoroughly positive way. Ina Lohr, ‘Paul Sacher's assistant’, is a well-known figure in insider circles, who contributed immensely to the creation of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, one of the most important international teaching institutions for Early Music and historically informed performance practice. Lohr made a significant contribution to the emergence of the Basel Chamber Orchestra, which made a name for itself not only in Early Music but also, through regular commissions from the Sacher-family, in the field of New Music as yet another unique Basel contribution to the international music life. However, the exact nature of the contributions of Lohr is not entirely clear even to locals and insiders who did have the privilege of meeting her themselves. Especially, her own compositional activity has so far been carefully left out of the prevailing ‘image’ of the conservatively dressed and coiffed Lohr who taught ‘house music courses’ (the name of teacher training at the time).

Author Biography

Christine Fischer, Basel

Christine Fischer is historical musicologist with research interests in vocal, theatre and instrumental musics of the 16th to 20th centuries. She studied musicology, Italian literature as well as history of art and ethnomusicology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and University of California Los Angeles. In 2004 she earned her PhD with a thesis on the operas of Maria Antonia Walpurgis at University of Berne and held an assistant professorship of the Swiss National Science Foundation at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis from 2007 to 2013, conducting research on performance practice of Early Opera while heading an interdisciplinary team. 2019-2021 she was Senior Research Associate at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts - School of Music. Her publications focus on aspects of gender and diversity in music, national musical identities and the connections between music and the visual. Christine Fischer taught at academic institutions in several German speaking countries and worked as music journalist, freelance author and dramaturge of performance projects.

Published

2021-09-08

Issue

Vol. 10 (2021): EJLW

Section

Reviews and Reports

Copyright (c) 2021 Christine Fischer

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