Adler, Hubert J.

Guido Adler was an Austrian musicologist and teacher who was one of the founders of modern musicology. Adler's family moved to Vienna in 1864, and four years later he began to study music theory and composition with Anton Bruckner at the Vienna Conservatory. Intending to pursue a career in law, Adler studied at Vienna University, receiving a doctoral degree in 1878. During this period he gave a series of lectures on Richard Wagner at the university (later published as Richard Wagner, 1904) and, in cooperation with Felix Mottl, established the Akademischer Wagnerverein ("Academic Wagner Society"). Influenced by the writings of outstanding contemporaries in the field of music history, Adler abandoned law; he wrote a dissertation on Western music before 1600 and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1880. Two years later he became a lecturer and completed a work on the history of harmony. In collaboration with Philipp Spitta and K.F.F. Chrysander, Adler founded the Viertel-jahrsschrift für Musikwissenschaft ("Quarterly of Musicology") in 1884. The following year he was appointed professor of the history of music at the German University at Prague. In 1888 he recommended that the Austrian government publish an edition of great Austrian music. This project came into being as the Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Österreich ("Monuments of Music in Austria"), and Adler was its general editor from 1894 to 1938, producing 83 volumes in the series. In 1892 Adler became organizer of the music section of the International Music and Theatre Exhibition in Vienna. In 1898, Adler was named professor of music history at Vienna University, where he founded an institute devoted to musicological research. His lectures were popular and were attended by students from throughout Europe. A considerable number of his pupils later attained fame as composers or musicologists. In addition to music history, Adler's interests extended to contemporary music; he developed a close friendship with Gustav Mahler, about whom he published a book in 1916, and he also admired the work of Arnold Schoenberg. As one of the earliest musicologists, Adler articulated the major principles and methods of the new discipline as it was taking form in the late 19th century; he was the first music historian to emphasize style criticism in research. His attitudes and procedures are evident in the Handbuch der Musikgeschichte ("Handbook of Music History"), of which he became the editor in 1924. -- Encyclopedia Brittanica Online. (http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9003748) Retrieved 2/16/2009.

Musician and educator Hugh Hodgson was born in Athens, GA in 1893. By age four, he showed a unique talent for the piano - and by age fourteen he was studying piano in Europe. Hodgson returned home to attend the University of Georgia, where he played tennis and majored in zoology while continuing his music interests. In 1915, Hodgson played in New York's Carnegie Hall. He was an organist for a number of Athens churches before being appointed director of music at the Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens in 1925. Here he began giving informal lectures and recitals of music - not only to the students at the Institute but to anyone who wanted to listen. Thus began a lifelong devotion to bringing music to common people. In 1928, Hodgson became a professor at the University of Georgia, heading the newly created Department of Music (a position he held until his retirement in 1960). While at the University, he won numerous awards and taught and influenced countless students. Hodgson continued his efforts to popularize various forms of music by presenting an annual opera, organizing a Little Symphony Orchestra, directing the Men's Glee Club, establishing chamber music festivals, and performing recitals and delivering lectures nationwide. Even after his retirement, Hodgson remained active as a church musician and guest professor and performer. Atlanta Constitution editor Ralph McGill praised Hodgson by writing: "Hugh Hodgson is to music what Johnny Appleseed was to the Northwest and its orchards. He burns with a passion to make music available to everyone." Hodgson died in Atlanta on Aug. 12, 1969. The University of Georgia's School of Music, and its main concert hall, are both named in his honor. Hodgson's influence can not only been seen in this school and this concert hall, but is heard on special fall Saturday afternoons in Athens, when the University of Georgia football team takes the field. From the UGA Athletics web site: "Among the University's oldest and most lasting traditions is the school fight song, "Glory, Glory" which is sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." It was sung at games as early as the 1890s, but arranged in its present from by Georgia musician-composer Hugh Hodgson in 1915." -- GeorgiaInfo. (http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/hughhodgson.htm) Retrieved 2/16/2009.