Edward Lowinsky and the Divisive Politics of the <i>New Josquin Edition</i>

Abstract With its elegant presentation and unprecedentedly rich critical-commentary volumes, the New Josquin Edition of 1987–2017 set the standard for early-music edition making. But notwithstanding the heights for which the publication reached, its genesis was anything but straightforward. A tumultuous origin story beginning in the 1960s centers on the hugely influential Edward Lowinsky, then a towering figure in the field of musicology. Lowinsky set plans for a new edition in motion in the course of organizing the 1971 International Josquin Festival-Conference, an event that in Paula Higgins’s words marked the composer’s “apotheosis.” Newly uncovered archival documents reveal how Lowinsky endeavored to segue his opulent conference into a new, international edition of Josquin’s music under his control. Up to a point he was successful: the conference led directly to the establishment of the first Josquin Committee (active 1973–78), which aimed to provide a foundation for the edition. But he soon became embroiled in dramatic conflicts that strained the institutional relationship between the Dutch Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis and the American Musicological Society. A reexamination of ideological and interpersonal dynamics at play during these formative decades can bring to the fore the successes, limitations, and enduring legacy of arguably the most important edition of early music still in use today, while illuminating Lowinsky’s lasting influence on the discipline of musicology.