Biography

Morgan Rich is the Assistant Director of the Center for European Studies at the University of Florida. She holds a Ph.D. in Historical Musicology from the University of Florida (2016), M.M. in Musicology from Bowling Green State University (2008), and a B.S. in Music History and Literature from Indiana State University. She is also a Research Ambassador for DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, German Academic Exchange Service).

Morgan’s research focuses on the intersection of music, culture, philosophy, and analysis. Exploring music and philosophy in early twentieth century Austro-Germany, particularly composers of the Second Viennese School (Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, and Anton Webern) and the philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, her research examines the influence of these, and other, music-compositional systems on Adorno’s negative dialectics and cultural criticism. Interested in cultural critiques of ideologies, Morgan’s archival research has shown how Adorno’s interaction with these composers and their musics made its way into broader social, political, and cultural critiques of American and European societies as they emerged from World War II. Since 2009 she regularly conducts archival research in Germany and Austria. During the 2017–2018 academic year Morgan was awarded a Volkswagen Stiftung and Andrew Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities to work at State Institute for Music Research, Berlin.

Furthering her life-long interest in contemporary music, Morgan’s recent research projects include examining the musical metaphors of nature in Finish composer Kaija Saariaho’s works. In addition, she is studying the timbral and spatial architecture in Rebecca Saunders’ concerted works.

Morgan Rich has been teaching academic courses on music’s role in European cultural history since 2008. She develops courses that center around inclusive, diverse, and accessible learning environments. Courses link musical styles, genres, and artists to their places by connecting music to the architecture, artworks, public discourse, and funding mechanisms that create the cultural networks throughout Europe.

Recent publications:

• Rich, Morgan. "Theodor Adorno’s Musical Monographs: Challenging the Genre and Creating Historical Narratives" in Music Criticism 1900–1950, edited by Jordi Ballester and Gérman Gan Quesada, Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2018.
• Rich, Morgan. “Arnold Schoenberg’s Piano Suite, op. 25” in A-R Online Music Anthology, 2018.
• Rich, Morgan M. “Theodor Adorno and Alban Berg: The Crossroads Between Philosophy and Music.” PhD diss., University of Florida, 2016. https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0050257/00001(opens in new tab)
• Rich, Morgan M. Review of Barbara Hannigan: Concert Documentary by Barbara Hannigan, and: Lulu by Alban Berg,” MLA Notes 72, no. 3, March 2016.