KUHN, Wolfgang Erasmus 1914-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born April 12, 1914, in Leipzig, Germany; died March 10, 2003, in Stanford, CA. Educator, musician, and author. Kuhn was known as the co-creator of a computerized system of music instruction. After immigrating with his family to America from Germany, he attended college at the University of Illinois, where he earned a B.Mus. in 1936, a master's in 1943, and a doctorate in music education in 1953. Kuhn also taught at his alma mater from 1943 to 1955, followed by three years as associate professor of music at the University of Colorado at Boulder. At both universities he was head of the music education department. In 1958 he joined the faculty at Stanford, where he was in charge of both the Department of Music and the School of Education. Kuhn was an advocate of the Suzuki method of teaching music and held summer workshops using Suzuki's instruction principles. Later, he teamed up with Paul Lorton, Jr., to develop computer software called the MusicMaster. Released in 1982, it used an Apple II-Plus to help students learn to play by ear. Not long after this accomplishment, Kuhn retired from Stanford. During his career he published several books on music instruction, including Principles of String Class Teaching (1957), Instrumental Music: Principles and Methods of Instruction (1962; second edition, 1970), and The Strings (1967).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, March 23, 2003, p. B16.

ONLINE

Stanford Report Online,http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/report/ (March 19, 2003).