Jacques Handschin in Russland

Jacques Handschin (1886–1955) is regarded as one of the most significant and original musicologists of the 20th century. His scholarly work is characterized by a wide range of focuses in both medieval studies and musical modernity, encompassing music history, music psychology, and other fields. From 1935 until his death, he served as a full professor of musicology at the University of Basel. Handschin never studied musicology formally; instead, he received a solid education from the leading organists of his time (with Max Reger in Munich, Karl Straube in Leipzig, and Charles-Marie Widor in Paris). In 1909, he was appointed as an organ teacher at the conservatory in St. Petersburg, where he worked as a teacher and performer until 1920—during the early years of the revolution. In the spring of 1920, he moved to Switzerland and began a rapid academic career alongside his work as an organist. Recently, Janna Kniazeva was able to document Handschin's extensive journalistic activities in St. Petersburg, particularly concert reports and reviews. In these writings, Handschin emerges as an exceptionally observant and astute commentator on the music and musical life of his time in a European metropolis. His often timely texts not only reflect an exciting phase of modernity but also provide insight into a previously unknown aspect of this extraordinary scholar's intellectual biography, revealing its true genesis. The edition of these previously unknown texts is preceded by a detailed introduction in which Janna Kniazeva outlines Handschin's career, known only in broad strokes, and his time in St. Petersburg, describing the cultural context in which the texts are situated.