Marko Kölbl
Folk Music and Folk Dance at the Reichshochschule. A Critical Prehistory of our Field at mdw
Looking back at 60 years of research and teaching at the biggest ethnomusicological institution in Austria – mdw’s Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology – this paper traces back the predecessors of today’s department. The department has officially existed since 1965; however, the discipline of folk music research and the practice of folk music were part of the university’s teaching offer much earlier.
This paper particularly highlights the role of folk music (transmission) during the National Socialist regime, addressing the link between Alpine folk music and dance and nationalist, fascist supremacy. I examine both supporting and rejecting attitudes towards an institutionalization of folk music education in the so-called Reichshochschule für Musik. I further reflect on the post-war discourses on establishing folk music research and practices within what was back then the State Academy. Drawing on historical archival data, I present central figures, their artistic approaches, and the various ways of promoting and instrumentalizing traditional Alpine folk music and dance from Austria.
I will finally contrast the fascist instrumentalization with a rediscovery of Alpine folk music (research) in post-war Austria, and briefly contextualize the beginnings of the field of traditional music research and practice within our institution with the subsequent developments. The paper is based on research in the central archive of the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, as well as the department’s archive.