The International Musicological Society (IMS) is a learned society for musicology at the international level, with headquarters in Basel. It is a part of the Conseil International de la Philosophie et des Sciences Humaines (CIPSH), a sub-organization of UNESCO. It seeks the advancement of musicological research through international cooperation.
Contents
The IMS membership includes individuals, institutions, libraries, and organizations. Among its organizational members are: the American Musicological Society (AMS), the Royal Musical Association, the Deutscher Musikrat (de), the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Musik, the Società Italiana di Musicologia, and the Société française de musicologie.
History
The International Musicological Society was founded on September 30, 1927 on the initiative of Henry Prunières, during the celebration of the centenary of the death of Beethoven. His proposal aimed to resurrect the International Music Society, which had dissolved in 1914, and was met with great interest.
Activities
The IMS organizes international congresses every five years, in years ending in 2 or 7. The most recent congress was in Rome in 2012. The next congress will be in Tokyo in 2017. At these congresses, members elect the directorium. In between the congresses, they also sponsor international symposia on specialized subjects.
The IMS publishes a journal twice a year, Acta Musicologica, printed in several languages addressing musicological research of international importance. Acta has been published by Bärenreiter Verlag Basel since 1954. The current editors are Federico Celestini and Philip V. Bohlman.
The IMS collaborates closely with the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres to produce several directories: