Alfred Einstein facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alfred Einstein
Einstein in 1927
Born	(1880-12-30)December 30, 1880 Munich, German Empire
Died	February 13, 1952(1952-02-13) (aged 71) El Cerrito, California, United States
Alma mater	Munich University
Occupation	Musicologist

Alfred Einstein (December 30, 1880 – February 13, 1952) was a German-American musicologist and music editor. A musicologist is someone who studies music in a scientific way. He was born in Munich, Germany. He had to leave Nazi Germany after Adolf Hitler came to power. He moved to the United States by 1939. He is most famous for updating the first major version of the Köchel catalogue. This catalogue lists all the works of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Who Was Alfred Einstein?

Alfred Einstein was born in Munich, Germany. He first studied law, but he soon realized his real passion was music. He earned a special degree called a doctorate from Munich University. His studies focused on instrumental music from the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. He was especially interested in music for the viola da gamba, an old string instrument.

In 1918, he became the first editor of a music magazine called Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft. Later, he became a music critic for newspapers like the Münchner Post and the Berliner Tageblatt. A music critic writes reviews and opinions about music.

In 1933, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazis took control in Germany, Alfred Einstein left the country. He first moved to London, then to Italy, and finally to the United States in 1939. In the U.S., he taught at several universities. These included Smith College, Columbia University, Princeton University, and the University of Michigan.

His Important Music Works

Alfred Einstein did not just research specific music topics. He also wrote popular books about the history of music. Some of these include Short History of Music (1917) and Greatness in Music (1941).

He was very knowledgeable about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Because of this, he published a very important and detailed update of the Köchel catalogue in 1936. This catalogue is a complete list of all of Mozart's musical pieces. This work is what Alfred Einstein is best known for.

He also published a large, three-volume set called The Italian Madrigal (1949). This was the first detailed study of the Italian madrigal, which was a type of song popular in the Renaissance. His 1945 book, Mozart: His Character, His Work, was also a very important study of Mozart. It is perhaps his most famous book.

Was He Related to Albert Einstein?

Many people wonder if Alfred Einstein was related to the famous scientist Albert Einstein. Some sources have said they were cousins, but others say there is no clear proof.

Some websites suggest they both came from a person named Moyses Einstein, who lived many generations ago. This would make them distant cousins. Alfred's daughter, Eva, said in 1991 that they were not related. However, in 2003, she wrote that they were indeed distant cousins, based on new research.

Alfred and Albert Einstein were even photographed together in 1947. This happened when Albert Einstein received an honorary degree from Princeton University. At that time, they did not know they were distantly related.

Works

• Gluck (Master Musicians Series-Series Editor Eric Blom), translated by Eric Blom, J. M. Dent & Sons LTD, 1936
• A Short History of Music, translation of Geschichte der Musik, 1937, rev. 1938, 1947
• Canzoni Sonetti Strambotti et Frottole. Libro Tertio ( Andrea Antico, 1517). Smith College: Northampton, MA, 1941
• Golden Age of the Madrigal: Twelve Five-Part Mixed Choruses. G. Schirmer: New York, 1942
• Greatness in Music, translation of Grösse in der Musik by César Saerchinger, Oxford University Press, 1941
• Mozart: His Character, His Work, translated by Arthur Mendel and Nathan Broder, Oxford University Press, 1945
• Music in the Romantic Era: A History of Musical Thought in the 19th Century, 1947, rev. 1949
• The Italian Madrigal, translated by Alexander H. Krappe, Roger H. Sessions, and Oliver Strunk, Princeton University Press, 1949 (3 volumes)
• Schubert, translated by David Ascoli, Cassell & Co., 1951

See also

In Spanish: Alfred Einstein para niños