About Wilhelm Heinitz
Lived 1883 – 1963 (aged 79). Wilhelm Heinitz was a German musicologist.
Wilhelm Heinitz (9 December 1883 in Altona – 31 March 1963 in Hamburg) was a German musicologist.
After training and working as a bassoonist, Heinitz became a member of staff at the Phonetics Laboratory of the University of Hamburg in 1915 and studied musicology there. He received his doctorate (PhD) on a topic of phonetics in 1920 in Kiel and his habilitation in 1931 with the paper Strukturprobleme in primitiver Musik at the University of Hamburg, where he subsequently headed the research department for comparative musicology until 1949. In November 1933 he signed the vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State.
Heinitz died at the age of 79.
Work Books Vorstudien über die Psychologischen Arbeitsbedingungen des Maschinenschreibens, 1922 Instrumentenkunde (Ernst Bückens Handbuch der Musikwissenschaft), 1929 Instrumentenkunde. Die Musik der aussereuropäischen Natur- und Kulturvölker / Robert Lachmann., 1934 Neue Wege der Volksmusikforschung Mit einer wissenschaftlichen Einführung in die Homogenitätslehre u.d. physiologische Resonanz. Was kann die vergleichende Musikwissenschaft zur Indogermanenfrage beitragen?., 1936 Taktprobleme in J. S. Bachs "Wohltemperiertem Klavier" (Fs Max Schneider...), 1955
Articles Experimentelle Untersuchungen über musikalische Reproduktionen, 1915 Eine lexikalische Ordnung für die vergleichende Betrachtung von Melodien, 1921
Literature Thomas Phleps: Ein stiller, verbissener und zäher Kampf um Stetigkeit – Musikwissenschaft in NS-Deutschland und ihre vergangenheitspolitische Bewältigung, in Isolde v. Foerster et al. (ed.), Musikforschung – Nationalsozialismus – Faschismus, Mainz 2001. online Uni Giessen Horst Seeger: Musiklexikon Personen A–Z / Deutscher Verlag für Musik Leipzig (1981)
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Important facts
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Wilhelm Heinitz?
German musicologist (1883–1963)
When was Wilhelm Heinitz born?
Wilhelm Heinitz was born on 9 December 1883 in Altona.
When did Wilhelm Heinitz die?
Wilhelm Heinitz died on 31 March 1963 in Hamburg.
What was Wilhelm Heinitz's occupation?
Wilhelm Heinitz was a musicologist.
What nationality was Wilhelm Heinitz?
Wilhelm Heinitz was German.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Wilhelm Heinitz. https://biography.guide/wilhelm-heinitz/
MLA: "Wilhelm Heinitz." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/wilhelm-heinitz/.
Chicago: "Wilhelm Heinitz." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/wilhelm-heinitz/.
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