Fürstliches Arkadien

In academic research, princely summer residences are regarded as places of
longing, where rulers sought to realize their dream of an earthly paradise and
escape the constraints of courtly ceremonial. Traditionally, this research has been
based in history of art. What music was made in the summer residences, and how it
might have differed from that of the main residence, has not yet been systematically
studied. The conference made a contribution to this by examining the musical life at
selected European summer residences of the eighteenth century and relating it to one
another. The individual contributions present the respective situations of the
cultivation of music at selected summer residences in the German-speaking countries
as well as in Italy, Spain, England, Sweden and Russia.