Gerhard Herz papers and Music History administrative records
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 2020_399
Papers of professor Gerhard Herz and records regarding the administration of the music history program. Administrative materials include memos, faculty minutes, planning documents, and records related to the joint doctoral program in music history with the University of Kentucky. Paper of Dr. Herz include scholarly output, materials from various music organizations, correspondence, and course materials and handouts. Records also include research about the life and works of Johann Sebastian Bach, along with drafts and manuscripts for Bach Sources in America and its German translation. See also Gerhard Herz papers 2001_046.
Some materials in these records may contain sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state privacy laws. Materials that must be reviewed prior to access are denoted with an (*) asterisk. In keeping with our use policies, researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to individuals without the consent of those individuals may have legal implications. Researchers who find sensitive personal information in any collection should immediately notify an ASC staff member.
22.5 linear feet (18 records center boxes)
Gerhard Herz, internationally recognized authority on Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and University of Louisville professor of music history, was born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1911. He and his family emigrated to the United States, with the assistance of humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, in the late 1930s. Here he began his forty-year career at the university and his involvement in Louisville's music community. Herz is often credited with creating the university's music history program and for establishing the Louisville Chamber Music Society. Herz served on the board of the Louisville Orchestra for twenty years as well as on the jury for the orchestra's famous commissioning project. During his career Herz managed to acquire photographic reproductions of almost all of Bach's manuscripts from 1704 to 1750, notably those in the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, Berlin and these remain the most significant documents for the study of the works of the great composer. Herz was married to Mary Jo Fink (1916-1995), Ohio native and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Ohio State University, who taught French at the University of Louisville from 1942 to 1979. Herz died at age 88 on September 3, 2000.
Materials grouped under the Music history administrative records series are not solely the records of Gerhard Herz. When these materials were transferred to the University Archives from the School of Music, it appeared that records from several faculty members may have been co-mingled. In addition, it became clear that the records relating to Gerhard Herz's life and schalrship had been jumbled. A best effort was made to bring like items together, but ultimately, this collection was minimally processed.
Part of the University of Louisville Archives and Special Collections Repository