Semi-Private Musical Practices in Prague, Vienna and Berlin (1815–1850): Musical Repertoire within the Socio-Cultural Context of the Time

Provider and number: CSF No. 22-16531S
Duration: 2022–2024
Recipient: Institute of Art History, CAS
Principal investigator: Anja Bunzel

This project explores semi-private musical practices in Prague, Berlin, and Vienna from 1815 to 1850. It considers two phenomena: the establishment of an engaged middle-class initiating social gatherings in private homes, and the gradual decline and/or reshaping of salons held by the nobility. Often music took a key role in these gatherings – as mediator, entertainment, or main purpose. Researching musical repertoire within its wider cultural context, this project demonstrates that semi-private musical practice had a stronger impact on cultural history than is commonly recognised. It addresses two main research questions: What kind of semi-private musical practices existed in Prague, Vienna, and Berlin during the first half of the nineteenth century? How may studying musical repertoire in semi-private gatherings help illuminate such concepts as artistic networks, music-cultural transfer, and identity? The project is positioned within the field of musicology, borrowing methods from cultural studies and social history. Main outcomes are a monograph and a special-themed journal issue.

Image: Elise von Schlick (1790–1855), composer, poet, pianist and salonnière in Prague during the first half oft he nineteenth century (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek)