Musikwissenschaft#
Musicology: By the Middle Ages, as one of the "septem artes liberales" (Seven Liberal Arts), music had already become one of the subjects of instruction at the Faculty of Arts. Music as a university discipline was seen as a mathematical science ("musica mundana" in contrast to "musica humana"). Prominent teachers at Vienna University were N. von Neustadt, G. W. de Horb and J. Geuss. Music was taken off the curriculum on the occasion of the university reform of 1554.
The academic study of music began with aesthetical and historical
treatises (R. G. Kiesewetter, O. Jahn, A. W. Ambros, etc.).
However, it was not until 1861 that a chair of music (theory and
aesthetics of music) was again established in Vienna, which was held
by E. Hanslick (from 1856 Dozent, from 1898 head of department). But
it was his successor G. Adler who founded the "Vienna School of
Musicology" ("Wiener Schule der Musikwissenschaft"); as many of his
pupils had to emigrate in 1938, his teachings were spread
internationally, especially in the USA. A characteristic element of
the "Vienna School" is the division into comparative and systematic
musicology in addition to historical musicology (these 3 terms are
primarily regarded as methods of teaching and not as subjects); W.
Graf combined comparative and systematic musicology
("comparative-systematic musicology").
In 1919 another musicological institute was established in Innsbruck,
in 1939/40 another one in Graz and in 1966 in Salzburg (3 professorial
chairs in Vienna, one in Innsbruck, Graz and Salzburg each). An
extracurricular research institute devoted to the history of Austrian
music was set up in 1944 in the "Commission for Musical Research" at
the Austrian Academy of Sciences (1st president: E. Schenk).
Some departments of music academies are also engaged in musicological
research, and there are numerous other scholarly Austrian music
societies (Oesterreichische Gesellschaft fuer Musik/Austrian Music
Society, Denkmaeler der Tonkunst in Oesterreich, several associations
of composers, etc.).