On January 1, 2021, the “Hof | Musik | Stadt” Research Center began its work under the direction of Prof. Dr. Christiane Wiesenfeldt (Heidelberg) and Prof. Dr. Panja Mücke (Mannheim). As a collaboration between the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the State University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim(external link), and the Department of Musicology at Heidelberg University (external link), it is the successor to the research project “Southwest German Court Music”(internal link) at the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, which was successfully carried out by Prof. Dr. Silke Leopold.

The research center, based in Schwetzingen, is dedicated to teaching, public relations, and music education, as well as research, editorial work, project planning, and grant applications. The center’s full-time staff member is Dr. Rüdiger Thomsen-Fürst(external link).

From the late Middle Ages until 1918, the court was a major driving force behind musical life in southwestern Germany. Within the borders of the state of Baden-Württemberg, there are numerous residences of varying sizes where not only did the modern orchestra emerge as an ensemble, but where court music also evolved from a means of princely representation into a municipal and state orchestra with an educational mission. Although commendable research on court music in southwestern Germany has been conducted in recent decades, there remain gaps in our knowledge, particularly at the intersection of court and city.

The expertise of Dr. Thomsen-Fürst, along with that of the two directors, Prof. Mücke (external link) (specializing in 18th-century court music research) and Prof. Wiesenfeldt(external link) (specializing in research on bourgeois and Romantic music culture), forms a constructive synergy in their research. Regarding the period of upheaval in the (broadly defined) decades around 1800, the research examines both discontinuities and continuities in the transition from a court music culture to an urban music culture in southwestern Germany. To date, research has largely assumed separate spheres of activity—music at court versus music in a bourgeois city—which, tied to a narrative of progress initiated by Enlightenment studies, were believed to have followed one another in a linear fashion. The fact that this is by no means the case—that courtly and urban musical cultures influenced one another with varying characteristics, and that numerous structures originally associated with the court (concerts, theater) persisted even after the loss of a royal residence—represents one of the hitherto unexplored areas of research concerning the dynamics of the period around 1800.

The Research Center’s high level of expertise—which is unique in the field of court music in southwestern Germany—will be reflected first and foremost, and on a regular basis, in the teaching programs of the bachelor’s and master’s degree courses at Heidelberg University and the State University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim. The teaching will focus in particular on digital edition, one of the most important future fields in the discipline of musicology. Furthermore, a summer school for international students and doctoral candidates is planned, to be held every two years, which will give young international researchers the opportunity to become acquainted with the Southwestern German repertoire and its performance venues.

The connection to musical practice and the public is essential for the research center. Its responsibilities therefore include advising musicians and ensembles, as well as lending performance materials. The long-standing collaboration with the Schwetzingen SWR Festival (external link) is to be continued in an intensive manner. Two high-profile conferences accompanied by concerts (such as on “The Southwest German Region and Court Culture in the 19th Century” or “The Loss of Residences in the Southwest around 1800”) are firmly scheduled for the duration of the Research Center’s term; these will also help the directors invite international experts to Schwetzingen.