Mikhail A. Saponov

Prof. Dr. Mikhail Saponov is a music historian, translator, and textual critic. He holds a doctor’s degree in art criticism and is the head of the Department of the History of Western music at the Moscow Tschaikovsky Сonservatorу. M. Saponov had graduated from the same conservatoire, where among his teachers (1968–1976) were Yu. Kholopov, V. Kholopova, V. Konen, T. Tsytovich, E. Levashev, and A. Schnittke. He is the author of six books and numerous scholarly articles. His academic interest includes the professional aspect of oral tradition in Western European music of the 13th – 17th centuries. In 1996 he published a book titled Minstrels, where he offered his concept of the musical history of the middle Ages stating that its essence had been determined mostly by minstrel culture and gave a comprehensive definition of professionalism in art. From 1992 to 2002, M. Saponov was the head of the music centre Early Music Collegium at the Moscow Сonservatorу. Since 1991 he has lectured and performed research in USA, Germany and Switzerland. M. Saponov is fellow of the russian composer’s union. He published a number of previously unknown letters of Wagner and mahler found in moscow archives. M. Saponov is the author of the russian translation of J. S. Bach’s vocal texts, Jean Cocteau’s musical articles, the russian diaries of Ludwig Spohr and Robert Schumann and other texts.