Important Music Figure Dies at 101: RIP Walter Deutsch

Walter Deutsch, a music scholar and broadcaster, has died, according to ORF’s Radio Niederösterreich. He was 101.

Deutsch isn’t a household name stateside, but he was an important figure in the international folk music world. He not only became a renowned researcher of folk music but also shared it with the masses. He hosted the radio show AufhOHRchen, which shared “treasures of folk music” with listeners since the ’60s. Deutsch, who died on Monday, was also seen on the television program Fein sein, beinander bleibn (which translates to Be nice, stay together).

Some of his accolades in the academic world include being the founder of the University of Music and Performing Arts’ Institute for Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology, located in Vienna. Per ORF, he also headed the program from 1965 to 1993. Throughout the ’90s, he led the Austrian Folk Song Institute and was considered the “honorary president” in the decades since.

ORF’s Alexander Hofer mourned the death of Deutsch, writing: “In his broadcasts on ORF television and Radio Niederösterreich, he knew how to share his enthusiasm for music and his knowledge of it. He contributed a lot to passing on this important cultural asset and to conveying the traditions of our country. He left behind a valuable legacy. Our thoughts are with his family – we remember the wonderful, long-term collaboration with a warm and loyal companion.”