Piano reductions, potpourris, parodies, quotes, transcriptions etc. – the forms of musical intertextuality found within Europe’s music centers of the early 20th century were as numerous as the occasions this kind of music was written for. It has been part of genre conventions, commissioned by publishers, or considered as part of the analytical study of preexisting material. Taking a closer look at the people involved in these processes and their actions, it can be discerned that intertextuality was about more than a mere transformation of musical scores. Using a methodological and theoretical framework that focuses on practices and examines specific examples, this doctoral project takes into account the dense structure of practices within a music culture in which (intertextual) music was composed, discussed, taught, learned, performed, analyzed, acquired and distributed. As such, it takes a critical stance towards research inclined to hierarchize “referenced” and “reworked” pieces.

Tom Wappler holds a Bachelor’s degree in Musicology and British and American studies from the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg. His Bachelor’s thesis involved creating a critical edition of a Georg-Philipp-Telemann cantata. In 2014, he received his Master’s degree from the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg. In his Master’s thesis, he researched the intersection of musical intertextuality and music-cultural practices for the first time, using the example of Erik Satie’s humoristic piano works. In 2014, he was appointed Research Assistant for the Cultural History of Music within the Music Department of the University of Oldenburg. His doctoral project examines “Practices of Musical Intertextuality in the Early 20th Century”. Mr. Wappler was also associated with the (research training group) “Self-Making – Practices of Subjectivation” from 2015 to 2018. Currently, he is one of three spokespeople of the study group “Nachwuchsperspektiven” (perspectives of junior scientists) of the German Musicological Society.