Martin Nedbal

Martin Nedbal is a Professor of Musicology and a faculty affiliate of the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Kansas. His research primarily focuses on German and Czech music, with a particular emphasis on opera during eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In 2023, Cambridge University Press published his latest book, "Mozart's Operas and National Politics: Canon Formation in Prague from 1791 to the Present." Nedbal is also the author of "Morality and Viennese Opera in the Age of Mozart and Beethoven" (Routledge, 2017) and translator and editor of "The Published Theoretical Works of Leoš Janáček" (Editio Janáček, 2020). He is also one of the editors for the forthcoming book "A History of Music in the Czech Lands," which will be published by Cambridge University Press. 

Nedbal has a prolific record of publications, particularly on topics related to morality, censorship, and the construction of national identity in the operas of Mozart and Beethoven. His articles appeared in respected journals and collections such as "The Journal of Musicology," "The Cambridge Companion to 'The Magic Flute'," "19th-Century Music," "Opera Quarterly," "Acta Musicologica," "Divadelní revue" (Czech Theater Review), "Newsletter of the Mozart Society of America," the database Mozart: New Documents, and the "Oxford Handbook of Music Censorship." Additionally, he has written extensively on Beethoven's "Fidelio," with articles published in "Music and Letters," "The Musical Quarterly," "Music and Practice," and "Ars Lyrica."

Nedbal's research extends to the realm of Czech music, particularly focusing on the works of Smetana and Dvořák, as well as German musical culture in Prague. His work on these subjects has been featured in publications such as the "Journal of Austrian American History," "Current Musicology," "Journal of Musicological Research," "Music and Politics," and "Hudební věda."

Before joining the University of Kansas, Nedbal worked at the University of Arkansas for seven years and earned his Ph.D. in historical musicology from the Eastman School of Music in 2009.     

Education

Ph.D., Musicology, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester

M.M., Clarinet Performance, Syracuse University

B.A., German and Russian Studies, Hamilton College