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Walter Deutsch (born 29 April 1923) is an Austrian musicologist specialising in folk music research.

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Born in Bozen/South Tyrol, Deutsch began his education in a seminar for music education in Innsbruck. After the war and captivity, he continued his education first in Innsbruck and then in Vienna.

Deutsch was a ballett korrepetitor at the Vienna Volksoper. In 1963, he was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In 1965, he founded the Institute for Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology [de] and directed it until 1993. From 1992 to 1999, he was the president of the Österreichisches Volksliedwerk [de] and has been its honorary president since 1999.

In individual provincial studios of the ORF, he still presents programmes concerning folk music, such as the programme Fein sein, beinander bleibn in Carinthia or the programme Fein sein, beinander bleibn in Lower Austria aufhOHRchen – volksmusikalische Kostbarkeiten.^[1]

He turned 100 on April 29, 2023.^[2]

In his honour, the Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur [de] created the "Walter Deutsch State Prize" in 1994. This prize is awarded every two years in recognition of special achievements in the field of folk music research.

• 1955: City of Vienna Award for Music
• 1956: Theodor Körner Prize for Musik
• 1974: Großes Goldenes Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um das Bundesland Niederösterreich [de]
• 1992: Raimund-Zoder-Medaille [de]
• 1993: Ehrenmedaille der Bundeshauptstadt Wien [de] in Gold
• 1996: Georg-Graber-Medaille [de]
• 2003: Austrian Decoration for Science and Art I. Classe

• Uwe Harten/Irene Harten: Walter Deutsch. In Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon. Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5; Print edition: vol. 1, Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften printing press, Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-7001-3043-0.

• Literature by and about Walter Deutsch in the German National Library catalogue
• Laudatio für Walter Deutsch
• OE-Journal Walter Deutsch
• Walter Deutsch in Austria-Forum (in German) (at AEIOU)