An Interview with Prof. Bathia Churgin in Honor of Beethoven’s 250th Birthday 

Authors

  • Bathia Churgin Author
  • Adena Portowitz Givat Washington Academic College Author

Abstract

Professor Emerita Bathia Churgin, Israel’s leading scholar in the field of Classical music, has dedicated her internationally acclaimed research to studies of the origins and development of eighteenth-century Classical music and the Classic Symphony, as manifested in the works of Giovanni Battista Sammartini (c.1700–75). Extending into the nineteenth century, her studies of Beethoven demonstrate how the composer’s most daring innovations emerge from within the tradition of Classical music (see attached List of publications). In honor of Min-Ad’s 17th issue, commemorating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, we thank Bathia for graciously sharing with us some of the highlights of her research. Moreover, as founder and head of the Department of Musicology (Music) at Bar-Ilan University, 1970–84, we thank her for sharing with us aspects of her academic and personal experiences. 

Author Biography

  • Adena Portowitz, Givat Washington Academic College

    Adena Portowitz, Ph.D., musicologist and music educator, senior lecturer, founder and past chair of the Department of Instrumental Music Education at the Givat Washington Academic College. Her research interests focus on interconnections between expression and formal structures in tonal music and underlying mechanisms linking music education and cognitive, social, and personal development of at-risk children. Since 2002, she has served as editor and co-editor of MinAd: Israel Studies in Musicology Online. 

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Published

2024-07-18

Issue

Section

Interview