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Freund's Musical Weekly

(New York, 1893-1896)

RIPM Preservation Series: European and North American Music Periodicals (2017)

Editor: Harry E. Freund

Periodicity: Weekly

Continues: Freund's Weekly (New York, 1893-1894)

Continued by: The Musical Age (New York, 1896-1914), forthcoming in RIPM Preservation Series: European and North American Music Periodicals

Freund's Weekly (1893), later Freund's Musical Weekly (1893-1896), and later The Musical Age (1896-1914) was published and edited by Harry E. Freund, the younger brother of the better-known John C. Freund, at this time editor of The Music Trades and later founder and editor of Musical America. Harry began work in the musical press in the early 1880s, ultimately assuming status as publisher and editor of John's Freund's Music and Drama in 1885 (following a brief period in which their mother, Amelia Lewis, served as editor).1 Freund's Weekly was not indended to be a continuation of Freund's Musical Weekly; Harry began the new journal with Volume 1 Number 1 and both publications overlapped for one month.

Harry E. Freund intends the journal to be "bright, chatty and gossipy" (vol. 1, no. 1, page 2) and thus includes much musical news and concert reviews in compact, "newsy" prose. A section titled "The Music Trade" comprises better than half of each issue, largely focused on pianos and piano manufacturing.

With the 2 December 1893 issue (vol. 4, no. 8), Freund changed the title to Freund's Musical Weekly, better reflecting the journal contents which seldom strayed from musical topics. With the change came further illustrations and a broader coverage of the musical world, including events and musical personalities in Europe, though always with a significant focus on music in the United States. Pages per issue increased from twelve to thirty-two. The music trades remained a significant part of each issue, often consuming two-thirds of each issue.

RIPM intends to include the successor title The Musical Age when a complete copy can be accessed, assembled, and scanned.

1 For more information about Harry E. Freund and the Freund family, see William E. Hettrick, "Harry Edward Freund's Great Square-Piano Bonfire: A Tale Told in the Press." Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society 30 (2004): 57-97.

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