Herta & Kurt Blaukopf Award for outstanding dissertations at the mdw
In 2026, the Rector of the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna presented for the fourth time the Herta & Kurt Blaukopf Award for outstanding dissertations at the mdw. The award serves to highlight extraordinary achievements in the context of academic doctoral studies and to support early-stage researchers in their subsequent academic careers.
The Herta & Kurt Blaukopf Award is granted by a transdisciplinary internal jury under the chairmanship of the Dean of Research Studies on the basis of independent external evaluations.
Next Call planned for 2028
About the Herta & Kurt Blaukopf Award
The award honours Herta and Kurt Blaukopf, whose work has helped to define new standards in the fields of music sociology and musicology and encouraged critical thinking about the interdependencies of music and society. Kurt Blaukopf (1914-1999) contributed significantly to the establishment of the discipline of music sociology, founded the "Music Pedagogical Research Institute" (known today as the Department of Music Sociology) in 1965, and was for decades a driving force behind the development of scientific research at the mdw. Herta Blaukopf (1924-2005, born Singer) made important contributions to the field of Mahler research and can take credit, among other things, for editing Gustav Mahler's letters. Beyond their joint research activities, the Blaukopf couple also shared the experience of persecution under National Socialism. In memory of these two pioneers of cutting-edge, interdisciplinary and team-oriented research methods, this award celebrates the continued accomplishments of innovative methodological approaches.
To the Kurt Blaukopf Archive at the Department for Music Sociology
Research Support
Mag.a Therese Kaufmann, MA
Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1
1030 Vienna
First floor, Office nr. B 01 23
Phone: +43 1 711 55-6101
forschungsfoerderung@mdw.ac.at
AWARDEES
Herta & Kurt Blaukopf Awards 2026
Herta & Kurt Blaukopf Awards 2024
Awardees 2026
Isabel Frey: „Vocal Yiddishkeit. Postvernacular Transmission and Performance of Yiddish Folksong“ (Structured Doctoral Program (sdp))
Bianca Jasmina Rauch: „Widerständige Blicke: Weibliche Identitätssuche im Coming-of-Age-Film“ (Department of Film and Television – Film Academy Vienna)
Ioannis Christidis: „Music in the experience of forced migration from Syria to the European borderland. Two case studies“ (Music and Minorities Research Center (MMRC))
Alexander Flor: „Das Dramma per Musica im Konzeptalbum. Interpretation und Inszenierung Alter Musik am Tonträgermarkt“ (Department of Musicology and Performance Studies (IMI))
Tianyu Jiang: „The Elusive Dancefloor: Music, Club Space and Sociality in Shanghai's Queer and Women-Centered Underground Music Scene“ (sdp)
Jury 2026
Ralf von Appen, Julia Fent, Isolde Malmberg, Stephanie Probst, Nikolaus Urbanek (Chair), Barbara Wolfram
Impressions of the award ceremony on 18 June 2026, 17-19
Awardees 2024
Elena Minetti: "Schrift als Werkzeug. Schriftbildliche Operativität in Kompositionsprozessen früher musique mixte (1949–1959)" (Department of Musicology and Performance Studies)
Irena Müller-Brozović: "Resonanzaffine Musikvermittlung in Konzertsituationen" (Department of Music Education Research)
Barbara Wolfram: "Moving The Needle. The Portrayal and Representation of Gender and Diversity in Austrian Feature Films of the years 1997-2017" (Department of Film and Television – Film Academy Vienna)
Jury 2024
Anja Brunner, Lisa Gaupp, Michael Göllner, Golan Gur, Alex Hofmann, Nikolaus Urbanek (Chair)
Impressions of the award ceremony on 20 June 2024, 17-19
Awardees 2022
Krista de Wit: "Legacy. Participatory Music Practices with Elderly People as a Resource for the Well-being of Healthcare Professionals" (Department of Music Education Research, Music Didactics and Elementary Music Education)
Julia Fent: "Diskriminierungskritische Perspektiven auf Musiktherapie und ihre Kontexte" (Department of Music Therapy & Department of Cultural Management and Gender Studies)
Montserrat Pàmies-Vilà: "Expressive Performance on Single-reed Woodwind Instruments. An Experimental Characterisation of Articulatory Actions" (Department of Composition, Electroacoustics and Tonmeister Education)
Axel Petri-Preis: "Musikvermittlung lernen. Eine Analyse von Lernwegen klassischer Musiker_innen" (Department of Music Education Research, Music Didactics and Elementary Music Education)
Jury 2022
Eveline Christof, Werner Goebl, Marko Kölbl, Rosa Reitsamer, Fritz Trümpi, Nikolaus Urbanek (Chair)
Impressions of the award ceremony on 8 June 2022, 17:00-19:00
Awardees 2019
Nejla Melike Atalay: "Women Composers' Creative Conditions Before and During the Turkish Republic" (Department of Musicology and Performance Studies)
Marko Kölbl: "Burgenlandkroatische und kroatische Totenklagen" (Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology)
Katharina Pecher-Havers: "Der Salon des Proletariats – Die Narrative der Zitherkultur und ihre Erzählräume" (Department of Musicology and Performance Studies)
Anke Simone Schad: "Doing Politics – Making Democracy? Cultural Governance in der kommunalen Kulturpolitik" (Department of Cultural Management and Gender Studies)
Jury 2019
Dagmar Abfalter, Markus Grassl, Michael Huber, Doris Ingrisch, Therese Kaufmann, Christoph Khittl, Cornelia Szabo-Knotik (Chair)
Impressions of the award ceremony on 16 December 2019, 13:00-15:00