Poster of the Social Democratic Kunststelle

Proletarian Voices in a research project dealing with the musical activities that took place in connection with the labour movement in Austria between the 1860s and 1930s, with a particular emphasis on the period of “Red Vienna”. The project concentrates on questions of identity formation and political mobilization while foregrounding the complex and often ambivalent roles of emotion and tradition in the Austrian Workers’ Music Movement.

To this end, the project explores the reception of a variety musical genres and the history of musical institutions such as the Sozialdemokratische Kunststelle and the Arbeiter-Symphoniekonzerte established by David Josef Bach and the history of the Workers' Music Movement in Austria founded by Josef Scheu.

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Principal Investigator: Dr. Golan Gur 

The project is funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and based in the Department of Musicology and Performance Studies, mdw - University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

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