Počátky Jednoty umělců hudebních ku podpoře vdov a sirotků v kontextu vídeňské Tonkünstler-Sozietät

Abstract

Jednota umělců hudebních ku podpoře vdov a sirotků [Prague's Society of Musicians] (1803–1903) played a key role in establishing the concert life of Prague of the nineteenth century. Jednota drew the interest of researchers with its extensive presentations of George Friedrich Händel's oratorio works. It was founded on the model of the Tonkünstler-Sozietät (1771), which regularly performed oratorios and is considered to be one of the earliest public concert institutions in Vienna. Both societies were established with the same goal: the proceeds of the benefit concerts went into a fund, which was used to secure disabled musicians or surviving widows and orphans. The aim of the study is to outline the development of the Prague Society in connection with similar philanthropic organizations, especially the Vienna Tonküstler-Sozietät, and to reveal to what extent they may have influenced each other.