William A. Little [William Alfred Little, IV] (b. July 28, 1929, in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts; d. November 26, 2019 in Charlottesville City, Virginia) was a musicologist, organist, and educator. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in German and French from Tufts University (1951), a Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL) in Organ Performance (1952), and a Master of Arts in German from Harvard University (1953). After completing two years of military service as a Corporal in the US Army in Germany (19531955), he completed a Doctor of Philosophy in German at the University of Michigan (1961).

Dr. Littles career as Professor of German began at Williams College (19571963). Following a brief tenure at Tufts University (19631966), where he served as Associate Professor and Chair of the German Department. In 1966, he accepted a position at the University of Virginia as Professor of German and Chair of the Universitys newly established German Department. He remained at UVA for the duration of his teaching career, retiring in 1996 as Professor Emeritus of German and Music.

Dr. Littles dissertation research concerned the Austrian dramatist Franz Grillparzer (17911872), and his further scholarship in German focused on 18th- and 19th-century Austrian literature. His monograph on the poet Gottfried August Brger was published by Twayne Publishers in 1974. He was active in several professional associations related to German literature and language education, which included serving on the National Executive Council of the American Association of Teachers of German (19681978) and as editor of The German Quarterly (the official journal of the American Association of Teachers of German) (19701978).

Dr. Little was a skilled organist, having trained in Boston under George H. Faxon (1947 1953) and Carl Weinrich (1953) and in Ann Arbor with Robert Noehren (19551957). He also studied composition with Everett Titcomb (19491953). While completing his baccalaureate at Tufts University, he served as Organist of the College (19471951) and performed as organist at several area churches. Further, while teaching at Williams College, he served as College Organist (19591963), and, after relocating to Virginia, he was the Organist and Choirmaster at St. Pauls Church, Ivy (Episcopal) (19661986).

By the late 1970s, Dr. Littles research efforts had largely shifted from German literature to musicology, with a particular focus on the life and works of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. In 1986, he discovered Mendelssohns lost organ works in the Biblioteka Jagiellskonska in Krakw, Poland; the autograph scores had been moved from Berlin after the end of WWII, and suspicions were that they had been lost or destroyed in transit. Following this re-discovery, Dr. Little edited and published Mendelssohns Complete Organ Works in five volumes (London: Novello, 1987 1990) and wrote a companion monograph to accompany the edition, titled Mendelssohn and the Organ (New York: Oxford, 2010). Dr. Little was a member of several musicological associations, including the American Bach Society, American Brahms Society, and Neue Bachgesellschaft (Leipzig), and in spring 1996, he taught at the Eastman School of Music as Visiting Professor of Musicology. He was also a long-time and active member of the American Guild of Organists (AGO): he was among the founding members of the AGOs Charlottesville/Albemarle chapter, served as the chapters dean for three terms, participated on the on national AGO Committee for Continuing Education, and contributed several articles to the organizations journal, The American Organist.

Dr. Little died on November 29, 2019, at his home in Charlottesville, VA. He was survived by his beloved ex-wife, Mary Pidge Schimmel Cash.

Biography from:

Lowther, Gail E., Veronica Siebert, and Nathan Savant. Wm. A. Little Collection [Finding Aid]. Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, 2023. https://www.esm.rochester.edu/sibley/files/Wm-A-Little-Collection.pdf.