Albert Schweitzer
Polymath, theologian, physician, and Nobel laureate who championed 'Reverence for Life'.
Albert Schweitzer was a German-born polymath from Alsace whose work spanned theology, music, medicine, philosophy, and humanitarianism. As a Lutheran minister, he questioned both the secular historical-critical view of Jesus and the traditional Christian interpretation. In his study of Pauline Christianity, he argued that Paul’s mysticism of “being in Christ” was central, while the doctrine of justification by faith was secondary. He won the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of “Reverence for Life,” which he most famously put into practice by founding and running the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné, in what was then French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon). As a music scholar and organist, he studied the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and helped shape the Organ Reform Movement.
Schweitzer was born on 14 January 1875 in Kaysersberg, Alsace, then part of the German Empire’s Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine. After World War I, when Alsace returned to France, he became a French citizen. His parents were Adèle Schillinger and Louis Théophile Schweitzer. He grew up in Gunsbach, also in Alsace, where his father, a Lutheran pastor, taught him music. The village later became home to the Association Internationale Albert Schweitzer. The local medieval church was shared by Protestant and Catholic congregations, a compromise dating from the Reformation and Thirty Years’ War. Growing up in this atmosphere of religious tolerance, Schweitzer came to believe that true Christianity should aim for unity of faith and purpose.
His first language was the Alsatian dialect of German. He earned his Abitur at the Mulhouse gymnasium in 1893. From 1885 to 1893, he studied organ in Mulhouse with Eugène Munch, organist at the Protestant cathedral, who sparked his enthusiasm for Richard Wagner’s music. In 1893, he played for the French organist Charles-Marie Widor in Paris; Widor, impressed, taught him without charge, beginning a lasting friendship. From 1893, Schweitzer studied Protestant theology at the Kaiser Wilhelm University in Strasbourg, also learning piano and counterpoint from Gustav Jacobsthal and associating with Ernest Munch, another Bach admirer. He completed a year of compulsory military service in 1894. In Strasbourg, he saw many Wagner operas under Otto Lohse, and in 1896 he attended the Bayreuth Festival to see Wagner’s *Parsifal*, which deeply affected him.
In 1898, he returned to Paris to write a PhD dissertation on Kant’s religious philosophy at the Sorbonne and to study further with Widor, often meeting the elderly organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. He also studied piano with Marie Jaëll. After a summer semester at the University of Berlin in 1899, he earned his theology degree from the University of Strasbourg and published his PhD thesis at the University of Tübingen that same year. In 1905, he began studying medicine at the University of Strasbourg, earning his M.D. in 1913.
As a music scholar and organist, Schweitzer became known for his work restoring and studying historic pipe organs. He interpreted Bach’s religious music as pictorial and symbolic, explaining to Widor in 1899 that the figures and motifs in Bach’s chorale preludes were painter-like tonal and rhythmic images illustrating hymn texts. Widor, unfamiliar with old Lutheran hymns, was astonished. Encouraged by Widor and Munch, Schweitzer wrote *J. S. Bach: Le Musicien-Poète* in French, published in 1905. Instead of translating it, he rewrote it in German as two volumes (*J. S. Bach*), published in 1908 and translated into English by Ernest Newman in 1911. Philosopher Ernst Cassirer called it one of the best interpretations of Bach. During this work, Schweitzer befriended Cosima Wagner in Strasbourg, discussing theology and music and playing Bach’s chorale preludes for her at the Temple Neuf. He became a welcome guest at the Wagners’ home, Wahnfried, and corresponded with composer Clara Faisst.
- born
- 14 January 1875, Kaysersberg, Alsace (then German Empire)
- died
- 4 September 1965
- field
- Theology, music, medicine, philosophy
- nationality
- German (later French after World War I)
- known_for
- Philosophy of 'Reverence for Life', founding Hôpital Albert Schweitzer, Bach scholarship, Organ Reform Movement
Lore & Background
Schweitzer was born on 14 January 1875 in Kaysersberg in Alsace, in what had less than four years previously become the Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine in the German Empire. He later became a citizen of France after World War I, when Alsace became French territory again. He was the son of Adèle (née Schillinger) and Louis Théophile Schweitzer. He spent his childhood in Gunsbach, also in Alsace, where his father, the local Lutheran-Evangelical pastor of the EPCAAL, taught him how to play music. The tiny village would become home to the Association Internationale Albert Schweitzer (AIAS). The medieval parish church of Gunsbach was shared by the Protestant and Catholic congregations, which held their prayers in different areas at different times on Sundays. This compromise arose after the Protestant Reformation and the Thirty Years' War. Schweitzer, the pastor's son, grew up in this exceptional environment of religious tolerance, and developed the belief that true Christianity should always work towards a unity of faith and purpose. Schweitzer's first language was the Alsatian dialect of German. At the Mulhouse gymnasium he received his 'Abitur' (the certificate at the end of secondary education) in 1893. He studied organ in Mulhouse from 1885 to 1893 with Eugène Munch, organist at the Protestant cathedral, who inspired Schweitzer with his enthusiasm for the music of German composer Richard Wagner. In 1893, he played for the French organist Charles-Marie Widor (at Saint-Sulpice, Paris), for whom Johann Sebastian Bach's organ music contained a mystic sense of the eternal. Widor, deeply impressed, agreed to teach Schweitzer without fee, and a great and influential friendship thus began. From 1893 Schweitzer studied Protestant theology at the Kaiser Wilhelm University in Strasbourg. There he also received instruction in piano and counterpoint from professor Gustav Jacobsthal, and associated closely with Ernest Munch, the brother of his former teacher, organist of St William church, who was also a passionate admirer of J. S. Bach's music. Schweitzer served his one-year compulsory military service in 1894. Schweitzer saw many operas of Richard Wagner in Strasbourg under Otto Lohse, and in 1896 he managed to afford a visit to the Bayreuth Festival to see Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal, both of which impressed him. In 1898, he returned to Paris to
Reader's Guide
Schweitzer rapidly gained prominence as a musical scholar and organist, dedicated also to the rescue, restoration and study of historic pipe organs. With theological insight, he interpreted the use of pictorial and symbolical representation in J. S. Bach's religious music. In 1899, he astonished Widor by explaining figures and motifs in Bach's chorale preludes as painter-like tonal and rhythmic imagery illustrating themes from the words of the hymns on which they were based. They were works of devotional contemplation in which the musical design corresponded to literary ideas, conceived visually. Widor had not grown up with knowledge of the old Lutheran hymns. The exposition of these ideas, encouraged by Widor and Munch, became Schweitzer's last task, and appeared in the masterly study J. S. Bach: Le Musicien-Poète, written in French and published in 1905. There was great demand for a German edition, but, instead of translating it, he decided to rewrite it. The result was two volumes (J. S. Bach), which were published in 1908 and translated into English by Ernest Newman in 1911. Ernst Cassirer, a contemporaneous German philosopher, called it 'one of the best interpretations' of Bach. During its preparation, Schweitzer became a friend of Cosima Wagner, then resident in Strasbourg, with whom he had many theological and musical conversations, exploring his view of Bach's descriptive music, and playing the major Chorale Preludes for her at the Temple Neuf. Schweitzer's interpretative approach greatly influenced the modern understanding of Bach's music. He became a welcome guest at the Wagners' home, Wahnfried. He also corresponded with composer Clara Faisst, who became a good friend. His 1906 pamphlet 'The Art of Organ Building and Organ Playing in Germany and France', republished with an appendix on the state of the organ-building industry in 1927, effectively launched the 20th-century Orgelbewegung, which turned away from romantic extremes and rediscovered baroque principles—although this sweeping reform movement in organ building eventually went further than Schweitzer had intended. In 1909, he addressed the Third Congress of the International Society of Music at Vienna on the subject. Having circulated a questionnaire among players and organ-builders in several European countries, he produced a very considered report. This provided the basis for the Internat
Did You Know?
- Schweitzer's first language was the Alsatian dialect of German.
- He studied organ under Eugène Munch, who inspired his enthusiasm for Richard Wagner's music.
- His 1905 book 'J. S. Bach: Le Musicien-Poète' was written in French; the expanded German edition appeared in two volumes in 1908.
- He founded the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné, French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon).
- He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of 'Reverence for Life'.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Albert Schweitzer (14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian philosopher, philanthropist, physician, theologian, missionary, and musicologist who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952." — Albert Schweitzer "Let me give you a definition of ethics: It is good to maintain and further life — it is bad to damage and destroy life. And this ethic, profound and universal, has the significance of a religion. It is religion." — Albert Schweitzer "Radio appeal for peace, Oslo, Norway (30 March 1958); also in Peace or Atomic War (1958) Three Appeals Broadcast from Oslo, Norway, on April 28, 29, and 30, 1958." — Albert Schweitzer "Any religion or philosophy which is not based on a respect for life is not a true religion or philosophy." — Albert Schweitzer
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