Musicology professor receives 3 awards

If a sports analogy can be applied to the musicology department, Distinguished Professor of Music Thomas Mathiesen recently won the triple crown of national awards. \nHis work, "Apollo's Lyre: Greek Music and Music Theory in Antiquity and the Middle Ages," swept three major awards, the first time an IU professor has accomplished this feat.\n"The best way I can describe it is to make an analogy with horse racing ... with the triple crown," said Malcolm Brown, professor emeritus of music and former chair of the musicology department. "It's comparable to that."\nThe first award Mathiesen's book received was the Otto Kinkeldey Award, from the American Musicological Society. It honors the best book published from the preceding year in the musicology field. Musicology is the scientific study of music. \nMathiesen said he was honored to be the recipient of the award, which was given to two books this year. \n"The Kinkeldey is considered the highly prestigious award," Mathiesen said. "It is the highest award given by the society."\nThe second award the book received is Society for Music Theory's Wallace Berry Award, given to the best book published in the past three years in the field of music theory.\nThe American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers also recognized Mathiesen's book, giving it the Deems Taylor Award in the category of Symphonic and Concert Publications. It is an annual award presented to American authors and journalists whose books in the music field are deemed excellent. \nMathiesen will be honored at a reception Dec. 6 in New York.\n"I tried to write a book that would make the subject appealing across a wide variety of audiences," Mathiesen said. "I do feel a great sense of honor having the book recognized by these three very different audiences."\nMathiesen founded the Center for the History of Music Theory and Literature at IU. The center, affiliated with the School of Music, combines publications and projects in the music theory field.\nPeter Slemon, associate director of the center, complimented Mathiesen's intellect and emphasized the importance of his recent awards.\n"He's a brilliant man, but he's very unassuming and very modest," Slemon, said. "These are three very big awards in the field, and it's a real honor for IU that he has won these three."\nBrown said Mathiesen is an asset to the musicology department and always lets people know where he stands.\n"He is also a person of the highest ethical and moral standards," Brown said. "Even though he and I had a very good relationship, both on the professional and the personal level, he never was shy about speaking his mind."\nWhile Mathiesen said he recognizes the individual importance of the awards, but he is modest when discussing them.\n"They are three publication awards, so the awards really go to the book rather then to me," Mathiesen said. "My hope is that these three awards will certainly bring increased visibility to the academic side of the music school"