MUSIQUM

MUSIQUM – A Digital Panorama of Musical Heritage in Slovenia is a relational database developed as an innovative research platform for the in-depth exploration of musical life in Slovenia during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It enables the complex interconnection of biographical data, archival sources, concert programs, newspaper reports, and correspondence, weaving them into a visually and narratively rich account of the cultural landscape of the period.

The collection provides a systematic insight into musical developments in Ljubljana, Celje, Maribor, Ptuj, and Trieste, shedding light on the role of key musical institutions in shaping the public musical sphere. Through historical maps and analysis of the music market, it offers a comprehensive understanding of the cultural environment in which musicians, institutions, and audiences created, performed, and interacted.

MUSIQUM goes beyond the conventional scope of a data repository—it is a multilayered digital platform dedicated to the research, interpretation, and discovery of musical phenomena within their broader historical, social, and political contexts. It is intended for scholars as well as anyone interested in cultural history, offering new perspectives on one of the most formative periods of Slovenia’s musical past.

The database MUSIQUM was initiated and is led by Dr. Maruša Zupančič.

Period: 1790–1860

Section leader: Dr. Maruša Zupančič
Team members: Dr. Marko Motnik, Jana Erjavec, Sara Zupančič, Monika Marušič, Tonja Čakš

The first research section focuses on the emergence of early forms of organized musical life in Ljubljana and surrounding towns. Special attention is given to the concert activities of the Philharmonic Society (1794–1860), the leading concert institution in the city, as well as to musical-theatrical life in the Estates Theatre (1801–1837) and the Teatro di società in Gorizia (1809–1850), both of which played key roles in shaping public musical taste.

This section also includes the reconstruction of musical venues and events through historical cartography, enabling the creation of a digital musical topography of Ljubljana linked to data on concert programs, performers, and audiences. Research topics also include the local music market—such as music publishing, private instruction, and the trade of musical materials—as well as preserved musical correspondence that reveals networks of communication among musicians, composers, patrons, and cultural institutions. This thematic focus provides a comprehensive perspective on the development of Ljubljana’s musical landscape within the broader Central European cultural context.

Period: 1861–1918

Section leader: Dr. Maruša Zupančič
Team members: Tonja Čakš, Sara Zupančič, Dr. Nejc Sukljan

The second research period covers the flourishing and institutionalization of musical life in Slovenia. The database traces the development of concert activity in multiple cities and highlights the role of major musical institutions that significantly contributed to shaping the cultural landscape. Among the most prominent are: the Philharmonic Society in Ljubljana (1861–1919), the Narodna čitalnica in Ljubljana (1867–1891), the Cillier Musikverein (1879–1914), the Pettauer Musikverein (1878–1920), the Marburger Philharmonischer Verein (1882–1913), and several branches of the Glasbena matica in Ljubljana, Novo Mesto, and Trieste, as well as the Narodni dom in Trieste.

In addition to reconstructed concert programs, the collection includes biographical profiles of musicians active during this period and catalogs of selected composers’ works, whose oeuvres significantly enrich the historical understanding of musical creativity in the region. This enables a deeper comprehension of artistic production, institutional structures, and cultural networks that shaped the Slovenian musical sphere in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Period: 1918–1939

Section leader: Dr. Katarina Bogunović Hočevar
Team members: Dr. Maruša Zupančič, Tonja Čakš, Sara Zupančič

This period is marked by the transition from the Habsburg Monarchy to the Yugoslav context, a shift that brought about significant challenges and transformations in musical life. This section examines the evolution of musical institutions, repertoires, and practices within the context of changing political and social conditions.

MUSIQUM is funded by the Slovenian Public Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation.