The Austrian Encyclopedia of Music (oeml)

The Austrian Encyclopedia of Music (oeml) sees itself as a fundamental reference work for the music (history) of Austria in all its manifestations. It was released between 2002 and 2006 in a five-volume book edition (Register-CD 2008) and has also been available online in an expanded edition since 2002. The Online Encyclopedia is continuously updated (revision of existing articles and new articles). It offers the user illustrations, sheet music and audio samples for the individual entries on persons, places and specialist topics. Additional links refer to further information on the internet.

In the oeml, Austria is primarily understood as within the borders existing since 1945, whilst taking into account the various cross connections. This geographic definition must be considered as minimal scope only, as all historical inquiry needs to factor in the relationships within the monarchy (which were, after all, formative for the idea of Austria as a “land of music”). The contributions of Austrian expatriates and of immigrants to the dissemination or enrichment of Austrian music and music culture must also be considered. The oeml tries to cover, as far as possible, the whole period from prehistory to the present.

The oeml's original foundation was the 1995 register of the three-volume Austrian Music History, published by Rudolf Flotzinger and Gernot Gruber. Based on this, the list of articles is constantly being expanded; apart from staff from the Department of Musicology, external specialists also contribute as authors. Since June 2013, all the articles of the encyclopedia have been available as plain text files. The premium version complete with all additional information for each entry can be obtained for a fee.

The collaboration with external project partners is manifold, but central to it is the exchange of data and mutual networking.