The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies
Curriculum vitae
William Rhea Meredith III
The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, California 95192-0171
Phone: (408) 924-4589
Internet: meredith@email.sjsu.edu
Fax: (408) 924-4715
Current position
Director, Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies
Professor, School of Music and Dance, San José State University
(Appointment to both positions: August 1985)
Previous university teaching experience
Visiting Associate Professor, University of California, Berkeley
(1986-87; 1990-91)
Taught undergraduate courses on Beethoven for non-music majors, music history for majors, music history for non-majors, and the piano concerto for non-majors
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, Historical Musicology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1985
Dissertation on The Sources for Beethoven's Piano Sonata in
E Major, Opus 109
Advisor: Douglas Johnson (Rutgers University)
Bachelor of Music Education
Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham Alabama, 1976, magna cum laude
RESEARCH PROJECTS AND PUBLICATIONS
Bibliographic databases
Co-director, The Beethoven Bibliography Database, 1990 -
The Database is a comprehensive computer-based bibliography of Beethoven materials. The project has received funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, San José State University, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Beethoven Society. The database is accessible through the Internet (through Telnet and the World Wide Web). I conceived the database and began working on establishing it in the fall of 1985 when I began as director of the Beethoven Center. After extended discussions over hardware, software, procedures, and funding, the project was begun officially in 1990 with a grant from the California State Library. The project is currently funded with a grant from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The database contains over 10,000 bibliographic entries (articles, books, review, etc.) as of July 1998.
Publications
Editor (music editions)
Beethoven, Ludwig van. Piano Trios. Critical edition of the works with opus numbers for the new complete edition sponsored by the Beethoven-Haus, Bonn (forthcoming).
Anerio, Giovanni Francesco. "Mentre su l'alto monte." Oratorios of the Italian Baroque. Volume 1. Edited by Howard Smither. William Meredith, editorial collaborator. Concentus musicus series (VII). Germany: Laaber, 1985.
Series editor (musicological monographs)
North American Beethoven Studies
North American Beethoven Studies is a series of occasional monographs of studies devoted to Beethoven's life and works as they are reflected in new English-language scholarship. The series is published by the University of Nebraska Press.
Musicological annotator (German translation project)
With Dr. Wayne Senner, Arizona State University (general editor and translator) and Robin Wallace, Converse College(translator and musicological annotator): The Critical Reception of Beethoven in German Periodicals, 1782-1830. University of Nebraska Press. Four volumes. Volume 1: 1999.
Editor (periodical literature)
The Beethoven Journal (formerly The Beethoven Newsletter). San José: San José State University and the American Beethoven Society, 1986-
The journal is the only regularly-appearing periodical on Beethoven; I founded it as The Beethoven Newsletter in 1986. Because of its unique role in reporting on Beethoven scholarship and events worldwide, the newsletter was renamed The Beethoven Journal beginning with volume 10. It has won silver, bronze, and gold awards in the competition sponsored by the Council for the Support and Advancement of Education (CASE). Each volume contains two issues; the journal is indexed in Music Index, RILM, and other bibliographic sources.
Author
"Humming, Howling, and Hiking: Tracing Beethoven's Creative Process," essay for exhibit catalog for Beethoven exhibit at the Bowers Museum (Santa Ana, California), January-May 1999.
"Conference Report: 'Rethinking Beethoven's Late Period: Sources, Aesthetics, and Interpretation,' Harvard University, Department of Music, November 1-3, 1996," The Beethoven Journal 12 (1997): 32-41.
"Exhibit Report: 'The Piano Sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven,' The Rose Museum at Carnegie Hall, New York, February 27-May 27, 1996," The Beethoven Journal 11 (1996): 41-42.
"New Beethoven Portrait Discovered" (jointly authored with Charles Witcombe), The Beethoven Journal 11 (1996): 32-33.
"Beethoven Papers Read at the Joint Meeting of the AMS, CBMR, and SMT (New York, November 1-5, 1995), The Beethoven Journal 10 (1995): 72-74.
"Who is the Ghost in Beethoven's Trio?" Program booklet for concert series, "The Collection in Concert," presented by the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. February 15, 1995. Scholarly essay on the origin of the name for Beethoven's "Ghost" Trio, Opus 70, no. 1, written for "the educated but layman audience that attends the Morgan's concerts."
"In His Own Words: The Essential Beethoven," Beethoven in Vienna / The Second Style Period 1803-1812, ed. Kevin Bazzana (Milwaukee: Historical Keyboard Society, 1994), 17-22.
"Beethoven Papers and Concerts at the 1994 AMS convention," The Beethoven Newsletter 9 (1994): 147-151.
"Commentary: The Eroica and Beethoven's Sexuality through a Feminist Lens: Susan McClary's Reading of Beethoven in Queering the Pitch." The Beethoven Newsletter 8-9 (1993-94): 107-09.
"Wagner's Beethoven: A Posthumous Pilgrimage to Beethoven in 1840." The Beethoven Newsletter 8 (1993): 46-53.
"Conference Report: 'Beethoven in Vienna 1792-1803: The First Style Period, Conference and Concerts,' March 25-28, 1993 at the University of Connecticut, Storrs." The Beethoven Newsletter 8 (1993): 13-21.
"Beethoven Papers Read at the 1991 AMS Convention." The Beethoven Newsletter 7 (1992): 28-29.
"Forming the New from the Old: Beethoven's Use of Variation in the Fifth Symphony." Beethoven's Compositional Process, ed. William Kinderman. Volume 1 of North American Beethoven Studies. University of Nebraska Press, 1991.
"Beethoven Chronicle: Concerts, Competitions, Festivals, and Institutes, 1989-91." The Beethoven Newsletter 5 (1990): 60-61.
"Beethoven Papers Read at the 1990 AMS/SEM/SMT Meeting," The Beethoven Newsletter 5 (1990): 72.
A Listener's Guide to Beethoven's Nine Symphonies. Essay and program notes for a cycle of the symphonies written for the 1990 San José Beethoven Festival and printed in a commemorative booklet by the San José Symphony Association, 1989.
"Conference Report: The Beethoven Experience, PepsiCo Summerfare, Purchase, New York, August 5-6, 1990." The Beethoven Newsletter 4 (1989): 58-61.
"Beethoven Papers Read at the 1989 AMS, SMT Meeting." The Beethoven Newsletter 4 (1989): 68-71.
"Beethoven Papers Read at the 1988 AMS/SMT Meeting." The Beethoven Newsletter 4 (1989): 17-18.
"Beethoven's Creativity: His Views on the Creative Process." The Beethoven Newsletter 2 (1987): 1, 8-12.
"Beethoven's Creativity: His Work Habits." The Beethoven Newsletter 1 (1986): 37-44.
"Beethoven's Creativity: His Improvisations." The Beethoven Newsletter 1 (1986): 25-28.
"The Cavatina in Space." The Beethoven Newsletter 1 (1986): 29-30.
"Robert Birchall and Ludwig van Beethoven: Beethoven's Letter of October 1, 1816 Reappears." The Beethoven Newsletter 1 (1986): 4-6.
"The Origins of Beethoven's Opus 109." The Musical Times 126 (1985): 713-16.
Reviewer
Sound recording essay-review: Archduke Rudolph's Sonata for Clarinet and Piano and Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, Ricardo Morales, clarinet; Susan Kagan, piano, Gerald Kagan, cello; Koch 3-7339-2H1, 1997, in The Beethoven Journal 12 (1997): 22-26.
Review of William S. Newman's Beethoven on Beethoven (New York: Norton, 1988) in Early Keyboard Journal (Southeastern Keyboard Society, Summer 1990).
"Their Friend Even if He Couldn't Dance," Los Angeles Times (Sunday, January 10, 1988, The Book Review). Review of Beethoven Remembered: The Biographical Notes of Franz Wegeler and Ferdinand Ries (Great Ocean Publishers, 1987).
Exhibits curated
"Beethoven Treasures in America." An exhibit of Beethoven manuscripts, first editions, and other Beethoveniana in the collections of the Library of Congress, the Pierpont Morgan Library (New York City), and the Center for Beethoven Studies. Tentative date: 2001-02.
Papers and lectures given at concerts, professional meetings, conferences, & festivals
"Challenge, Expansion, Introspection: The Beethoven Quartets in Their Greater Context." Lecture for a Stanford University Continuing Education lecture series given in conjunction with performances of the complete string quartets. January 7, 1998.
"Music and Meaning: Haydn's 'L'Imperial' and Mozart's Last Fortepiano Concerto." Pre-concert lectures on Haydn's Symphony No. 53 and Mozart's Piano Concerto, K. 595, for the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with Malcolm Bilson. November 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 1997 in Berkeley, San Francisco, San Rafael, and Palo Alto.
"The Fifth and Ninth Symphonies as Tools of Propaganda and Resistance in the Hands of the Allies, Axis, and Inmates of Concentration Camps from 1938-1945." May 19, 1997. Stanford University Musicology Colloquium.
"Fate, Joy, and Propaganda: Beethoven from 1938-1945." March 1, 1997. Lecture for a Beethoven festival and symposium at Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) titled "Joy's Legacy: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony."
"E Major is for 'Laughing Joy and Pleasure': The Meaning of the Keys in Music of the Classical Period." July 23, 1996. Lecture for the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, San Luis Obispo, California.
Pre-concert lectures for two of the all-Beethoven concerts presented by the San José Chamber Music Society in their 1994-95 season: November 13 (Streicher Trio); February 5 (Stanford String Quartet). Le Petit Trianon, San José.
"What the Ninth Means - in Beethoven's, Not Schiller's, Own Words." June 9, 1994. Pre-concert lecture for the Berkeley Early Music Festival.
"Essential Beethoven: The Artist in His Own (and Others') Words." April 17, 1994. "Beethoven Extravaganza, Milwaukee." Sponsored by the Historical Keyboard Society of Wisconsin.
"A Remarkable New Source for Beethoven's Fortepiano Fingerings: The Nachlass Copy of Beethoven's Amended First Edition of the Fortepiano Trios, Opus 1." March 27, 1993. "Beethoven in Vienna / 1792-1803; The First Style Period / Conference & Concerts / 25-28 March 1993." Sponsored by the University of Connecticut, Storrs.
"Spectral Visions: Beethoven's Alternative Endings to the Second Movement of the 'Ghost' Trio." April 17, 1992. University of California, Berkeley Music Colloquium.
"How the 18th-century Heard Mozart." August 25, 1989. San Luis Obispo Mozart Akademie. San Luis Obispo, California.
"Articulating Beethoven's Piano Music According to His Autographs and First Editions." June 26, 1987. American Matthay Association annual meeting at San José State University.
"A Sketch for the Prestissimo of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in E Major, Opus 109." October 25, 1986. The American Musicological Society, Northern California chapter meeting.
"The Urtext Myth: Finding the Right Notes." April 18, 1986. Music Library Association, Northern California chapter.
"Variation Sketches and Symphonic Movements." March 22, 1986. Northwest Beethoven Symposium, University of Victoria, Canada.
Panelist
"Charting a Career in Musicology." American Musicological Society annual national convention, Phoenix, Arizona, November 1, 1997.
Musicological consultant
A&E "Biography" of Beethoven (November 30, 1998). Was interviewed at Juilliard in March 1998 and the Center has been assisting is aspects of the production.
BBC biography of Beethoven produced by Jill Marshall, September 1995-October 1997, broadcast on December 20, 1997. Helped revise and oversaw development and historical accuracy of narrative read by Kenneth Branagh for the 55-minute documentary biography.
Seminars taught
"Beethoven's Bonn, Beethoven's Vienna." Tour to Bonn and Vienna sponsored by Beethoven Center. June 1-10, 1993.
"Beethoven in the 1990s." Elder hostel program at San José State University . July 22-26, 1991.
"Beethoven: The Age of Revolution and Restoration." Summer seminar for college and university teachers supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities at Arizona State University. Institute dates: May 28-June 28, 1991. Meredith lecture dates: May 28-30.
Awards, grants, sabbaticals
Awards
Bautzer Faculty University Advancement Award Scholar, SJSU, 1997/98
Sabbatical
Fall 1991 from San José State University for research on Beethoven's piano trios in archives and collections in Europe
Grants
Fall 1991 from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Travel to Collection.
July 1990 from the California State University Research Fund to support work on preparation of critical edition of Beethoven's piano trios for new complete works edition
January 1990 from the California State University Travel Grants for travel to the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, to work on Beethoven manuscripts
1983-84 from the Smith Graduate Research Fund of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to purchase materials for the dissertation
Spring 1982 from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), a stipendium to research Beethoven's sketches and autographs in Berlin and Bonn
Professional societies
Member of the American Musicological Society (since 1976)
* National Council member (1992-94)
* Philip Brett Award Committee (1997-99)
* Chair, Moderated Musicology List Committee (1997-)
* Moderator, AMS-List (online musicological discussion list)
(August 1998-June 1999)
Member of Phi Kappa Phi (inducted 1993)
Member of Phi Eta Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa
Professional performing experience
Choral conductor
* University Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, N.C. (1979-1980, 1984-85)
* Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, N.C. (1980-84)
* University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, University Chorus (Summer 1984)
Singer
* Church of the Holy Family, Chapel Hill, N.C. (1977-79)
* Independent Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL (1972-74, 1975-76)
* Canterbury United Methodist Church, Mountain Brook, AL (1974-75)
References are available on request (Revised December 1998)