Die Musikforschung

Editorial: 75 Jahre Die Musikforschung

Panja Mücke — 2023-09-16

Brüche und Kontinuitäten

Stefan Keym — 2023-09-16

The article discusses features of (dis-)continuity between the three German musicological societies which existed before the foundation of the current “Gesellschaft für Musikforschung” (GfM). When the GfM was founded by Friedrich Blume in 1946/1947, it adopted the name of the first German-language musi- cological society: Robert Eitner’s “Gesellschaft für Musikforschung” (1868–1905). However, it has much more in common with its later predecessors: the “Internationale Musikgesellschaft” (1899–1914) and the “Deutsche Musikgesellschaft” (1918–1939). These societies established precedents for the structure of musicological societies, their congresses and journals. Even the close cooperation with a music publisher was continued by the new GfM, although Blume changed the partner from Breitkopf & Härtel to Bärenreiter. Furthermore, all three societies faced similar challenges: the relationship between musicological research and musical life, the tension between nationalist agendas and international cooperation, and the fluctuating forms of organization, which were easily destabilised in times of political turmoil.

Geglückte Reintegration?

Christian Bartle — 2023-09-16

The process of German musicology’s rapprochement with the international scientific community after 1945 can be traced through the musicological meetings and conferences that took place both inside and outside Germany. The essay evaluates the international participation – of German musicologists internationally and international colleagues at conferences in Germany – as well as the reception of these conferences in Die Musikforschung up to 1950. The key figure behind these developments was Friedrich Blume. Although the statements and reports of the “Gesellschaft für Musikforschung” (GfM) do not indicate any willingness to come to terms with the Nazi past, within a few years foreign organisations were ready to reach out to their German colleagues again.

Die GfM als gesamtdeutsche Gesellschaft

Lars Klingberg — 2023-09-16

The “Gesellschaft für Musikforschung” (GfM) was, from its foundation until 1968, the professional representation of musicologists in all German occupation zones and of both German states. Since the establishment of the branch office in Leipzig (1954), the GfM was politically instrumentalized by the GDR party and state apparatus as well as by musicologists loyal to the SED. The most important goal was the creation of two sections representing East and West Germany respectively; alternatively, the foundation of a separate musicological society in the GDR was prepared. These efforts were intensified after the construction of the Berlin Wall (1961). A central role was played by Karl Laux, the director of the Dresden Music Academy, and a personal friend of GfM president Friedrich Blume. Following a decision of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the SED on April 5, 1967, the GfM finally had to end its activities in the GDR in September 1968, and East-German musicologists joined the “Verband Deutscher Komponisten”.

Faszination Rom. Die Musikgeschichtliche Abteilung des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom (DHI)

Sabine Ehrmann-Herfort — 2023-09-16

The article presents the early history of the Music History Department of the German Historical Institute (“Deutsches Historisches Institut”) in Rome in the context of the cultural and political activities of other Roman cultural and research institutes in the postwar period. A visit of German President Theodor Hess in Rome in 1957 paved the way for the foundation of the Department in 1960. The article also addresses the role of the “Gesellschaft für Musikforschung” (GfM) with its newly founded “Commission for Foreign Studies” (“Kommission für Auslandsstudien”): For more than twenty years its chairman Karl Gustav Fellerer oversaw the research activities in Rome. The Department, especially its library, soon became a meeting point for German and Italian musicologists. A second section focuses on the current fields of research and the numerous funding opportunities offered by the Music History Department to researchers, especially young scholars.

Zur Geschichte der Fachgruppe „Freie Forschungsinstitute“ in der Gesellschaft für Musikforschung

Jens Dufner — 2023-09-16

The “Fachgruppe freie Forschungsinstitute” is one of the few permanent special interest groups within the “Gesellschaft für Musikforschung” (GfM). It represents research institutes in Germany which are not based at university departments (hence “free” institutes) and is thus concerned with institutional issues of long-term editorial projects. Furthermore, it serves as a forum for intense discussion of methodological and philological questions among its members. The group was founded in the mid-1960s, when the importance of research institutes had increased within musicology while their funding had not been secured yet. The association of the editorial projects with the German Academies of Science in the 1970s ensured their financial viability. Today the section is the central forum of exchange for musical philologists in Germany, regularly organising conferences and publishing scholarly volumes. As many of the long-term editorial projects are coming to an end and new projects are increasingly funded only short-term, the institutional function of the group has recently come back into focus.

Die Fachgruppe „Musikethnologie und vergleichende Musikwissenschaft“ in der Gesellschaft für Musikforschung

Michael Fuhr — 2023-09-16

This article gives a brief insight into the work of the study group “Ethnomusicology and Comparative Musicology” of the “Gesellschaft für Musikforschung” (GfM). It spotlights central issues, historical moments and developments in the past, and more recent activities of the study group. The first part roughly outlines cornerstones from its founding stages in the post-WWII years, when traditional views of “Völkerkunde” prevailed, to the paradigm shifts of the 1980s and 1990s, as comparative musicology gradually shifted towards ethnomusicological approaches grounded in cultural and social anthropology. The second part highlights the study group’s self-reflexive perspective and its recent engagement with topics such as diversity, anti-racism, and (post-)coloniality in the academic field. Drawing on issues discussed in the context of the “crisis of ethnographic representation,” recent debates and activities in the group are driven by ethical and political discussions regarding the power imbalances that shape ethnomusicological methodologies, practices and discourses within and beyond academia, and are thus closely tied to larger questions of social justice, equity, and inclusion.

Systematische Musikwissenschaft in der Gesellschaft für Musikforschung

Veronika Busch — 2023-09-16

Since its institutional establishment, systematic musicology has received significant impulses from physics, physiology, psychology, and ethnomusicology, which encouraged research into the conditions of musical production, reproduction, and perception. Music-related behaviours are increasingly seen as culturally bound and are studied by means of empirical methods. Systematic musicology has been anchored in the “Gesellschaft für Musikforschung” (GfM) since its foundation, while also developing specialised societies and publications. A survey of contributions to the annual conference of the GfM from 1948 to 1999 reveals the presence of research from all areas of systematic musicology, with music-psychological contributions predominating. In addition, representatives are involved in the committees of the GfM, and the study group “Systematic Musicology” sees itself as an integrative forum that stimulates multidisciplinary discussions within the GfM.

Besprechungen

Christina Richter-Ibáñez — 2023-09-16

Eingegangene Schriften

o.V. — 2023-09-16

Eingegangene Notenausgaben

o.V. — 2023-09-16

Mitteilungen

o.V. — 2023-09-16

Tagungsberichte

o.V. — 2023-09-16

Die Autorinnen und Autoren der Beiträge

o.V. — 2023-09-16