Historical Musicology

On January 30, 2026, the Chair of Historical Musicology at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Prof. Dr. Andreas Waczkat) and the Department of Historical Musicology at the University of Kassel jointly organized a music-historical study day on music theater from the 18th to 21st centuries - with presentations on ongoing and recent research projects by Adele Jakumeit, M.A., Dr. Emilia Pelliccia, Elena Minetti, Ph.D. and Prof. Dr. Carolin Krahn. The various contributions were moderated by students from the University of Kassel, Lynn Alena Bierbrauer and Moritz Noll, among others.

On June 24, 2025, the 11th Italy Day of the Italy Network of the University of Kassel took place at the Kassel City Museum. Under the title Splendour and abyss: Italy in Kassel yesterday and today, the guests were offered an afternoon-filling program consisting of four different contributions from art history, historical musicology, contemporary history and current school and student life, which opened up a variety of perspectives on relations between Kassel and Italy.

The six-day excursion to Vienna offered 15 Kassel students the opportunity to explore the "music city of Vienna" as a multi-layered urban space with simultaneous musical practices. The cooperation with the Chair of Ethnomusicology at the University of Vienna enabled students from the University of Kassel to gain insights into ongoing ethnomusicological research projects. This was realized by means of expeditions through the very different local musical scenes and visits to leading museums and archives at the interface of music history and ethnomusicology. The field trip was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the University of Kassel's Department of Music. It opened up an intradisciplinary perspective on music, its practice and history in one of Europe's most important cultural locations, thereby reaching beyond the regular study program and combining musicological studies with hands-on experience.

The 11th Italientag of the University of Kassel welcomed musicologist and opera expert PD Dr. Richard Erkens, the current director of the Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani. His talk "Once and Never Again? Opera buffa in Kassel or 'La frascatana' from 1779" at the Kassel City Museum explored the 18th century Italian opera production scene and its impact on the northern Alpine region for a broader, interdisciplinary audience. Thereby, Richard Erkens provided insights into his recent research on the subject. More details on the event and further talks delivered in this context can be read in the report by M.A. student Irmtraud Vonderheid, published in the section on International Affairs (ITALICUM) of this website.