Johanna Kinkel's pedagogical approaches as a socio-political mirror of her time
Date
2014
Authors
Bunzel, Anja
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Musicological Explorations
Abstract
Throughout her lifetime, Johanna Kinkel (1810-1858), a German composer, music pedagogue, and writer, was acknowledged for the extraordinary support of her husband, the German revolutionary Gottfried Kinkel (1815-1882), who, with the help of his wife and several political confederates, escaped from political captivity in 1850. Johanna Kinkel’s reputation as Gottfried Kinkel’s life saver as well as her own exceptional biography eclipsed her artistic output as well as her pedagogical and theoretical writings. Johanna Kinkel’s strong sense of justice, her remarkable perseverance, her courage to question socio-political and cultural conventions, as well as her witty Rhineland character are reflected in both her fictional and non-fictional writings. Having taught more than 200 music students during her lifetime, Kinkel was a well-experienced piano and singing teacher. This article will examine Johanna Kinkel’s pedagogical ideas considering both technical aspects as well as features regarding the factual content. By means of exemplary content analysis, I will expose allusions to socio-political criticism in Kinkel’s pedagogical compositions as well as her non-fictional and fictional writings. The aim of this article is to ascertain how Kinkel’s involvement in politics and her unconventional mind set had an impact on her pedagogical approach, which in turn might have influenced her reception as an artist and pedagogue.
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Citation
Bunzel, A. (2014). Johanna Kinkel's pedagogical approaches as a socio-political mirror of her time. Musicological Explorations, 14, 27-58. https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/me/article/view/16066