Peter John Branscombe (7 December 1929 inSittingbourne,Kent – 31 December 2008 inSt Andrews, Scotland) was an English academic inGerman studies, amusicologist, and a writer on Austrian cultural history.
Branscombe attendedDulwich College where he showed talent ascricket player. Having served his military service in Vienna, Austria, he studied literature atWorcester College, Oxford.[1] There, he became acquainted with notable Austrianémigrés such as the composerEgon Wellesz and the musicologistOtto Erich Deutsch.
In 1959 Branscombe joined theUniversity of St Andrews' faculty ofGerman Studies, a post he kept until the end of his life. In 1979, he founded St Andrews' Institute for Austrian Studies, the only such research facility in the United Kingdom.
His interests included the popular theatre of theBiedermeier and the Viennese suburban theatre with authors likeRaimund andNestroy. He wrote works onJoseph Haydn,Mozart andSchubert. Over many years, he wrote reviews of concerts and recordings and contributed toThe Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and theWagner-Handbuch (Wagner Handbook) where he researched many forgotten composers of the 19th century. Branscombe also translated poems byHeinrich Heine and academic texts.
Between 1996 and 2001, Branscombe edited sixPossen for thehistorical-critical edition of Nestroy's complete works.
He was married to German studies academic Marina Branscombe and they had three children.
