Alfred Dürr

Alfred Dürr ( born March 3, 1918 in Berlin -Charlottenburg, † April 7, 2011 in Göttingen ) was a German musicologist who has contributed significantly to the understanding of the history and tradition of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Life and work

Dürr studied 1945-1950 musicology and classical philology at the University of Göttingen and received his doctorate in 1950 with Rudolf Gerber with a thesis on the early cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. From 1951 until his retirement in 1983 he was a member of the Johann Sebastian Bach Institute, Göttingen, 1962-1981 its deputy director.

For many decades, Dürr continued intensively with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. The focus was on the history of the works that tried to brighten with the help of meticulous examination of sources Dürr. He was co-editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, a historical- critical edition of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, which was completed in 2007 and 1953 to 1974 with Werner Neumann editor of the Bach - Jahrbuch. Dürr wrote books on the cantatas of JS Bach and the Well-Tempered Clavier, which were also on the musicological experts also appeal to a wider audience.

Alfred Dürr was a member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and an honorary doctorate from the Humboldt University of Berlin, the University of Oxford and the Baldwin - Wallace College in Berea (Ohio ) since 1976.

Publications (selection)

• Johann Sebastian Bach. The cantatas. Barenreiter, Kassel 1999. ISBN 3-7618-1476-3
• Johann Sebastian Bach. The Well-Tempered Clavier. Barenreiter, Kassel 2002. ISBN 3-7618-1229-9