From moral treatment to modern music therapy: On the history of music therapy in Vienna (c. 1820–1960)

This article outlines the historical evolution and precursors of modern music therapy in Vienna from c. 1820 to 1960. The first section describes early attempts to purposefully integrate music into Viennese psychiatry and highlights the groundbreaking work of Bruno Goergen (1777–1842), who around the year 1820 deliberately incorporated music into psychiatric institutions based on his dedication to the ideals of “moral treatment” and “no-restraint” psychiatry. Shortly thereafter, the first medical dissertations on the therapeutic effect of music began to be published in Vienna. Around 1850, the emergence of an “active” form of “music therapy” (in the broadest sense) is recognizable; during the same time period, physicians began taking their patients’ musical preferences, education, and disposition into account. However, as university medicine became firmly rooted in the standards of experimental science, physicians increasingly lost their interest in music. The second section gives an overview of several cultural movements that emerged in the first half of the twentieth century and inspired the pioneers of music therapy in Vienna, paving the way for the foundation of modern Viennese music therapy in 1958. Among these were the life reform movement, the curative rhythm and dance movement, and anthroposophy, as well as psychotherapy and progressive music-educational concepts. At the conclusion of this article, the main traits of the history of music therapy in Vienna and some of the pervading premises of Viennese music therapy are summarized.