oeml online – The Austrian Encyclopedia of Music

The Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon (oeml) is a fundamental reference work on Austrian music (history) in all its forms. It was published from 2002 to 2006 as a five-volume book version (with index on CD, 2008) and has also been available online in an extended version since 2002. Editor until 2021: o. Univ.-Prof. i. R. Dr Rudolf Flotzinger, k. M.

As a work in progress, the online encyclopaedia is being constantly supplemented and updated (revision of existing articles, provision of new articles). Furthermore, it offers the user illustrations as well as music and audio examples for the individual person, place and subject articles. Additional links refer to further information available on the internet.

In the encyclopaedia, Austria is primarily considered within the borders that have been in force since 1945, but taking into account a wide range of cross-connections. This geographical concept is to be regarded as a minimum, as all historical questions must take into account the relationships within the area of the monarchy (which ultimately characterised the term “Austria as a musical country”), just as Austrians abroad and immigrants have contributed and continue to contribute to the dissemination and enrichment of Austrian music and musical culture at all times. As far as possible, the entire period from prehistory to the present should be covered.

The original basis for the creation of the oeml was the index of the three-volume Musikgeschichte Österreichs, published in 1995 and edited by Rudolf Flotzinger and Gernot Gruber. Building on this, the list of articles is constantly being expanded; in addition to staff from the Department of Musicology, external specialists also act as authors. The co-operation with external project partners is diverse, but the exchange of data and mutual networking are central.

The full version of the more than 10,000 personal, factual and topographical articles (with all illustrations, video and audio examples and links) has been available free of charge to all interested parties since January 2022.