Institute of Musicology

Musicology at the Robert Schumann Hochschule deals with the cultural meaning of music which permeates all areas of society in all its many different forms. This involves both traditional forms of music practice (such as in concerts, indoors or outdoors) and forms of dissemination through the media (e.g., sheet music and literature, radio, television, film, CDs, the Internet). Nowadays, musical culture is characterized, as never before, by a multidimensional simultaneity of varying forms of “music” (from pop music to Classic-Romantic repertoire to musical representations of non-European ethnic groups) and possibilities of reception (from private playing to individual listening in rich variety of situations, all the way to mass events).

If the discipline of musicology does not want to lose its relevance regarding the present and musical reality in history, it must be based both on the objects (the musical artifacts and expressions) as well as on the socio-cultural contexts in which these objects are used. Musicology views itself as belonging to the cultural sciences, with multiple transdisciplinary links through which the humanities and social-historical traditions of the discipline no longer apply.

The Institute organizes the courses in musicology for the teaching program of the entire university according to the needs of the artistic and educational courses of study set up at the University. In addition, a program of cooperation is run with the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), which enables HHU students to study the additional subject “Musicology” at the RSH as part of their bachelor’s degree in a core subject at HHU.

In addition, successful graduates of the bachelor’s programs are offered a scientific specialization in a master’s program and, based on this, a doctoral program (course of study).

The Institute of Musicology organizes scientific lectures and conferences that complement the artistic work at the Robert Schumann Hochschule, and supervises the publication of university-related research.