| David J. Buch | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1950 Detroit, Michigan |
| Occupation | Musicologist |
| Education | PhD Northwestern University |
| Subject | Musicology, Mozart scholarship |
| Notable works |
Der Stein der Weisen, Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests: The Supernatural in the Eighteenth-Century Musical Theater |
| Notable awards | Donald N. McKay Research Award |
David J. Buch is an American musicologist.
David Joseph Buch (b. Detroit 1950) studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. He received his PhD in Music History from Northwestern University.
He had been Professor of Music at Wayne State University and Professor of Music History at the University of Northern Iowa, where he is Professor Emeritus. Buch was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago 2008-2011. He has published numerous scholarly studies on a range of topics in music, having explored archives and libraries in many European cities: Berlin, Brno, Budapest, Český Krumlov, Dresden, Florence, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kroměříž, Linz, Munich, Nová Říše, Paris, Prague and Vienna.
His research has received international attention owing to the discovery of new attributions to Mozart in Emanuel Schikaneder's collaborative opera Der Stein der Weisen oder Die Zauberinsel (Vienna, 1790). His thoroughgoing study of the theatrical tradition in which Mozart's The Magic Flute originated has led him to new interpretations of the libretto, notably skepticism to the widely held view that The Magic Flute is specifically a Masonic opera (see Libretto of The Magic Flute).