In memoriam: Joachim Schlichte-Bierbaum (1947-2015)

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

On Monday, April 20, 2015, Dr. Joachim Schlichte-Bierbaum died of heart disease at the age of 68. From 1982 to 1990, he was the director of the RISM Central Office.

Schlichte was born in Lübeck in 1947 and studied music education, choral conducting, German studies, art history, and musicology in Frankfurt am Main. His doctoral dissertation in musicology was entitled “Thematischer Katalog der kirchlichen Musikhandschriften in der Liebfrauenkirche zu Schotten.” Prior to this, he had compiled the catalog Thematischer Katalog der Kirchlichen Musikhandschriften des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts, which included the Telemann sources, based on the holdings of the (at that time) Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt. He was also involved with producing the catalog of the opera collection there.

He retreated from musicology 25 years ago to care for his children from his second marriage. At this time he also began to write poetry. His poems touch on a variety of topics, including some love poems, though considerably more take a critical view of society.

In his time as director of the Zentralredaktion, he continuously encouraged the collaboration of working groups both in Germany and abroad. Many of his colleagues fondly remember his tireless energy. During his tenure at RISM, the two microfiche editions of the A/II manuscript database–then still small– and the first two supplement volumes to Series A/I were published. He also oversaw the Zentralredaktion’s move from Kassel to Frankfurt.

We shall always treasure his memory.

The RISM Zentralredaktion

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Category: In memoriam

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