The Schubert Society of the USA is pleased to announce the official launch of its new scholarly journal. The aim of ARPEGGIONE is to broaden the vistas of Schubert research and to promote greater multidisciplinary approaches to the study of the life and work of Franz Schubert. Such study will include all aspects of Schubert scholarship and performance from the fields of general history, music history, musicology, music theory, performance studies and history, reception history, and the arts and humanities. While the focus is on scholarship, we wish to make ARPEGGIONE accessible to the non-specialist contributor and reader. All contributions to these pages will adhere to the best scholarly and literary standards and practices.

It is the policy of ARPEGGIONE, as of the Schubert Society of the USA, to embrace all traditions and disciplines relating to Schubert, his music, and his life. ARPEGGIONE and the Schubert Society of the USA do not promote any particular ideological viewpoint or methodology. The content of individual contributions does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors. ARPEGGIONE is intended to be a forum for scholars who may be academic scholars, independent scholars, postgraduate students, and other contributors whose purpose is to pursue Schubert research: "Good scholarship is good scholarship, wherever it comes from."

The only criteria for acceptance of papers will be the originality of ideas, persuasiveness of arguments, and clarity of presentation. The main principle of the editorial policy will be open-mindedness and tolerance for the heterogeneity of ideas.

ARPEGGIONE's Editorial Board includes:

Christopher H. Gibbs, Bard College David Gramit, University of Alberta L. Michael Griffel, The Juilliard School R. Larry Todd, Duke University Janet I. Wasserman, Schubert Society, ex officio Susan L. Youens, University of Notre Dame

We know of no other composer who wrote for the arpeggione; therefore the name of our journal is uniquely connected to Franz Schubert. It was Dr. Bempéchat, our Associate Editor, who suggested the journal's title, and we are indebted to him for his evocative recommendation. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (ed. Stanley Sadie, London/New York, 1980/1995, Vol. I) provides the following description of this instrument: "It was invented and made by J[ohann] G[eorg] Stauffer of Vienna in 1824 and was, in essentials, a bass viol with a guitar tuning ...". The New Grove has a front-view photo of an arpeggione, which does not convey the depth (back to front) of the box or the impressively large size of the pegs for this six-stringed instrument. The arpeggione has no endpin; so it was held between the knees like a viola da gamba. An original Stauffer arpeggione is in the Musical Instruments collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

 
Executive Director Janet I. Wasserman, Managing Editor