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Daniel E. Freeman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daniel E. Freeman
Born27 April 1959
NationalityAmerican

Daniel Evan Freeman(born 27 April 1959) is an Americanmusicologistwho specializes inEuropeanart musicof the eighteenth century, in particular the musical culture of eighteenth-centuryPragueand theBohemian lands.He is also active as apianistandmusic editor.[1]

Biography

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He was born inEverett, Washington,but raised inMerrill, Wisconsin,from early childhood.[2]He earned aB.Mus.degree in piano performance at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madisonin 1981 and also studied piano as a non-degree candidate atIndiana UniversitywithJames Tocco.He studied musicology at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign(M.Mus,1983,Ph.D.,1987), where his teachers includedBruno Nettl,John Walter Hill, Nicholas Temperley, and Herbert Kellman. His dissertation "The Opera Theater of Count Franz Anton von Sporck in Prague (1724–1735)" was revised and published in 1992 as the first monograph devoted to the musical cultural of eighteenth-century Prague or the Bohemian lands ever written in English. This work has been followed by two other books concerned with music-making in eighteenth-century Prague:Josef Mysliveček, "Il Boemo"(2009)[3]andMozart in Prague(2013). No other musicologist of any nationality has succeeded in completing three separate monographs on the same subject matter.

Freeman's biography of Josef Mysliveček is partially the basis (along with material from the 2015 documentary filmZpověď zapomenutého) of the screenplay for the filmIl Boemo(2022), written by Czech film directorPetr Václav.The film was selected by the Czech Republic as its entry forBest International Feature Filmat the95th Academy Awards.

Freeman has taught music history at the University of Illinois, theUniversity of Southern California,and theUniversity of Minnesota,where he is a lecturer. Since 2002, he has appeared frequently as a resident associate of theSmithsonian Institution.His research has been supported by grants from theInternational Research & Exchanges Board,theAmerican Council of Learned Societies,theNewberry Library,and theNational Endowment for the Humanities.[4]Besides his monographs, Freeman has published essays on Italian opera of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, eighteenth-century keyboard music, and the music ofWolfgang Amadeus Mozart,Johann Sebastian Bach,the Bach sons,Antonio Vivaldi,andJosquin des Prez.He has also published editions of the music ofJosef MyslivečekandGiovanni Benedetto Plattiand was a contributor to theNew Grove Dictionary of Opera(1992) and the revisedNew Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians(2001).

Freeman's essay "An 18th-Century Singer’s Commission of ‘Baggage’ Arias," originally published in the journalEarly Musicin 1992, was re-printed as a classic study about baroque opera inOpera Remade, 1700–1750(Farnham: Ashgate, 2010).

In October 2022, Freeman was awarded a silver medal from the Faculty of Arts ofCharles Universityin Prague for his efforts in promoting the music of Czech composers outside of the Czech homelands.[5]

Books

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  • The Opera Theater of Count Franz Anton von Sporck in Prague(1992),ISBN0945193173
  • Josef Mysliveček, "Il Boemo"(2009),ISBN0899901484;condensed version in Czech asIl Boemo: průvodce po životě a díle Josefa Myslivečka,translated by Petra Johana Poncarová (2021),ISBN9788076015432;updated full biography in Czech asJosef Mysliveček,translated by Petra Johana Poncarová (2022),ISBN9788076017160;revised, updated edition in English (2022),ISBN1950743977
  • Mozart in Prague(2013),ISBN0979422310;revised, updated edition (2021),ISBN1950743500

References

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  1. ^Freeman's activities as a ballet accompanist and approach to the art of ballet accompaniment on piano are highlighted in Georgia Finnegan,Grace & Grit: a History of Ballet in Minnesota(Edina: Afton Press, 2024), pp. 168-69,ISBN9781736102138.
  2. ^Biographical information concerning Daniel E. Freeman is collected on the websiteAlliance Publications, Inc. - F - Freeman, DanielArchived2013-09-28 at theWayback Machine.
  3. ^The research forJosef Myslivečekwas featured in an article in theNew York Timesof 4 March 2007: seeInterview with Daniel E. Freeman.
  4. ^SeeNEH AwardsArchived2017-05-04 at theWayback Machine.
  5. ^SeeNewsletter of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University.
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