Gustave Reese (November 29, 1899, New York City – September 7, 1977, Berkeley, California) was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is mainly known for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications Music in the Middle Ages (1940) and Music in the Renaissance (1954); these two books remain the standard reference works for these two eras, with complete and precise bibliographical material, allowing for al...
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Gustave Reese (November 29, 1899, New York City – September 7, 1977, Berkeley, California) was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is mainly known for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications Music in the Middle Ages (1940) and Music in the Renaissance (1954); these two books remain the standard reference works for these two eras, with complete and precise bibliographical material, allowing for almost every piece of music mentioned to be traced back to a primary source.
Reese was an avid scholar and had interests in many areas outside music, including art, architecture, and literature. He is also remarkable in that he lacked formal musicological training. He studied law at New York University, graduating in 1921. Though he was admitted to the New York State Bar, he opted to re-enroll and pursue a bachelor's of music from NYU, which he received in 1930. In 1927, however, he was already teaching classes at the university in medieval and...
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