Heidlberger, Frank
Interim Coordinator, Music Theory
Professor of Music Theory
Magister Artium, PhD, Habilitation (second dissertation), Würzburg University.
Email: Frank.Heidlberger@unt.edu
Frank Heidlberger joined the College of Music Theory Division in the fall of 2001. He received the Magister Artium, Dr. Phil. and Dr. Habil degrees in Musicology at Würzburg University. Heidlberger was an assistant professor at Würzburg University (1988-1999) and an adjunct professor of music history at Würzburg Hochschule für Musik. In 1999 he received a Heisenberg scholarship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft which enabled him to focus on manuscript studies at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. in 2000. In 2001 he was invited to Vienna University as a guest professor. Heidlberger’s former activities include extensive research travels to Paris, Italy, London, Vienna and New York supported by several research grants and awards from DAAD, DFG, Würzburg University and the German Ministry of External Affairs. He regularly presents papers and guest-lectures in many European countries, Canada, the U.S., and Australia. In 2003 he organized an International Berlioz conference at UNT.
Heidlberger's interests in teaching and research of western music history include the history of music theory and performance practice of the middle ages and renaissance, romantic and modern opera, music aesthetics of the nineteenth century and compositional techniques in the twentieth century as well as opera-dramaturgy, music journalism and the role of the new media in contemporary musical life. He wrote and edited books on Carl Maria von Weber (1994), Hector Berlioz (1995), the Italian instrumental music of late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries (2000) and Weber's piano music (2001). More recently he edited two volumes of writings by Hector Berlioz (selected essays, 2002; Memoirs, 2007) in German translation for the publisher Bärenreiter, and an essay collection on Carl Maria von Weber for the publisher Schott (2007). Heidlberger regulary publishes chapters, articles and reviews in journals, yearbooks, and anthologies. He also contributed entries to music handbooks and dictionaries, such as the new edition of "Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart" dictionary. In 2008 an article on Berlioz appeared in the volume Berlioz. Scenes from the Life and Work, ed. Peter Bloom, Rochester: University of Rochester Press 2008 (Eastman Music Studies). Heidlberger is editor of the journal Theoria - Historical Aspects of Music Theory (UNT press), and serves as an external evaluator for musicology for the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation), the Swiss National Research Fund, and ACLS.
He is currently working on critical editions of the works by Carl Maria von Weber (clarinet concertos), Giacomo Meyerbeer (early opera) and a book on Hector Berlioz. Heidlberger is also active as a clarinet and saxophone player with a special interest in jazz and contemporary music.