Uccelli [née Pazzini], Carolina Uccellini, Marco

Unger, (Ernst) Max

(b Taura, Saxony, 28 May 1883; d Zürich, 1 Dec 1959). German musicologist and conductor. He went to the Leipzig Conservatory in 1904, studying piano with A. Ruthardt, composition with H. Zöllner, musical aesthetics with A. Seidl, at the same time attending Riemann's lectures on music history at the university. In 1906 he became conductor at the Vereinigte Leipziger Schauspielhäuser and a year later a teacher at the Bromberg Conservatory. He spent a year in London carrying out research on Clementi. After his return to Leipzig in 1908 he continued his studies with Riemann and took the doctorate in 1911 with a dissertation on Clementi. He was conductor of the Leipzig Madrigal Society (1912–14) and editor of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (1919–20). From 1932 to 1939 he lived in Zürich, where he made a catalogue of H.L. Bodmer's collection of Beethoven manuscripts. He lived in Volterra between 1939 and 1957, then returning to Zürich.

His research on Clementi, who had met Beethoven in 1807, enabled Unger to date several problematic Beethoven letters. This directed him to Beethoven's letters in general and he collected material for a new complete edition. His study of Clementi's correspondence also enabled Unger to prove that Beethoven's prospect of marriage in 1810 concerned Therese Malfatti. On his death, his library and notes were acquired by the Beethoven Archives in Bonn.

WRITINGS

‘Muzio Clementi and his Relations with G. Chr. Haertel of Leipsic as Shown by Letters of Clementi’, MMR, xxxviii (1908), 246–7, 270–73

Auf Spuren von Beethovens ‘unsterblicher Geliebten’ (Langensalza, 1910)

Von Mendelssohn-Bartholdys Beziehungen zu England (Langensalza, 1910)

Muzio Clementis Leben (diss., U. of Leipzig, 1911; Langensalza, 1914/R)

ed.: Beethoven über eine Gesamtausgabe seiner Werke (Bonn, 1920)

Ludwig van Beethoven und seine Verleger S.A. Steiner und Tobias Haslinger in Wien, Ad. Mart. Schlesinger in Berlin (Berlin and Vienna, 1921/R)

Beethovens Handschrift (Bonn, 1926)

ed.: Eine Schweizer Beethovensammlung: Katalog (Zürich, 1939)

Ein Faustopernplan Beethovens und Goethes (Regensburg, 1952)

KARL GEIRINGER/R

Ungher, Karoline.

See Unger, Caroline.

Ungler, Florian

(b Bavaria; d Kraków, 1536). Polish printer of German birth active in Kraków. From 1510 to 1516 he worked with other printers, including Jan Haller, but later he established his own printing house. He was the first in Poland to publish music in mensural notation (printed from woodblock), in his editions of musical theorists. His total output was over 240 titles. When he died his widow continued the business until her death in 1551, when Siebeneicher acquired the firm for the Szarfenberg publishing house (see Szarfenberg, Maciej).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Pzywecka-SameckaDM

H. Bułhak: ‘Ungler’, Słownik pracowników książki polskiej [Dictionary of the Polish book trade], ed. I. Treichel (Warsaw, 1972)

TERESA CHYLIŃSKA

Union Chapel, Islington.

London nonconformist chapel. See London, §I, 7(ii).

Unión Musical Ediciones.

Spanish firm of music publishers. See under Unión Musical Española.

Unión Musical Española.

Spanish firm of music publishers. At the end of the 19th century Ernesto Dotesio Paynter established a music shop in Bilbao, and also engaged in music publishing. On 14 March 1900 he founded the music publishing firm Casa Dotesio, having in 1898 bought the Casa Romero, one of the most important publishing houses in Spain; this was founded by Antonio Romero y Andía in 1856, and was active throughout the second half of the 19th century. In the weeks following its foundation the Casa Dotesio absorbed other important houses, including Zozaya, Fuentes y Asenjo and, most significant, Eslava (founded by Bonifacio San Martín Eslava); the Casa Romero and Eslava are notable for having published many 19th-century Spanish works, not only in large numbers but also exquisitely printed. In the following years the Casa Dotesio continued to absorb other smaller publishers. On 26 May 1914 it changed its name to Unión Musical Española, a name that better reflected the character of the firm, since it had united all the previously disparate parts of the nation’s music publishing under one roof, and continued to do so in subsequent years. In 1942 it acquired the Editorial Orfeo Tracio, which in turn had absorbed such important houses as Vidal Llimona y Boceta, Luis Tena and Salvat. The firm also serves as a music shop, and was for many years the most important in Spain. In 1993 the firm's archive was transferred to the Instituto de Ciencias Musicales (in E-Msa). The publishing side of the firm was purchased in 1990 by Music Sales and thereafter operated as Unión Musical Ediciones.

The Unión Musical Española and Unión Musical Ediciones have continually fostered the development of Spanish music. They have published works by all the major 20th-century Spanish composers, notably Eduardo Toldrá, Regino Sainz de la Maza and Graciano Tarragó, the sole publisher. Most important possibly are the editions of historic Spanish music, including such monumental collections as La Tonadilla Escénica, edited by José Subirá, the sonatas of Antonio Soler, edited by Samuel Rubio, and numerous editions of songs, as well as music for guitar, organ and other instruments (C.J. Gosálvez Lara: La edición musical española hasta 1936, Madrid, 1995).

JOSÉ LÓPEZ-CALO

Union pipes.

See Uilleann pipes. See also Bagpipe, §4 and Ireland, §II, 6.

Unison [prime]

(Fr. unisson; Ger. Prime; It. prima).

(1) Two or more notes sounding the identical pitch, usually though not necessarily at the same time. In a number system with semitone = 1, tone = 2, the unison ‘interval’ is equivalent to zero. It would be theoretically possible to call the interval C–C an ‘augmented unison’ but in practice it is normally referred to simply as a chromatic semitone. Similarly, Enharmonic notation may produce unison between notes with different letter names (e.g. F = G).

(2) The simultaneous execution of one polyphonic part by more than one performer or performing group (e.g. the first violin section of an orchestra), either at exactly the same pitch or at the interval of an octave, double octave etc. (see also Doubling (ii)); such execution is said to be ‘in unison’ and is often indicated in scores by the Italian all’unisono.

(3) ‘Rhythmic unison’ is an informal equivalent for a Homorhythmic texture.

JULIAN RUSHTON