12 Facts About Zmaga Kumer

Zmaga Kumer was a Slovenian ethnomusicologist and academic.

Zmaga Kumer taught at both of her alma maters, the Academy of Music from 1953 to 1966 and the University of Ljubljana from 1966 to 1989.

Zmaga Kumer was born on 24 April 1924 in Ribnica, Slovenia.

Zmaga Kumer earned a degree from the University of Ljubljana in 1948, where she studied Slovenian literature within Slavic studies, and subsequently attended the Ljubljana Academy of Music, graduating in 1952 with a degree in musicology from the folklore-historical department.

Zmaga Kumer taught ethnomusicology at both her alma maters: first at the Ljubljana Academy of Music from 1953 to 1966, and later at the University of Ljubljana from 1966 to 1989.

Zmaga Kumer delivered guest lectures on Slovenian folk music variously in Innsbruck, Munich and Sarajevo.

Zmaga Kumer received numerous awards throughout her career, including the Order of Labour, the Murk Award and the Herder Prize.

Zmaga Kumer's career has been described as "extremely productive"; she authored over 450 total publications, which included 37 book-length monographs.

Zmaga Kumer often published in both Slovenian and German, including anthologies, indexes, anthologies as well as texts on instrument-making and performance practice.

Zmaga Kumer connected her research to the folk music of nearby Alpine states, identifying and exploring their shared topics, melodies and texts.

Zmaga Kumer's work culminated in two monographs: the 1996 Vloga, zgradba, slog slovenski ljudske pesmi, and the 2002 Slovenska ljudska pesem.

Zmaga Kumer published an important textbook, Etnomuzikologija in 1988.