Musikkhistorier: Endringsprosesser og videreføringer i musikkhistorieundervisningen ved Norges musikkhøgskole 1973–2023

The article illuminates music history teaching at the Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH) from 1973 to 2023 through two questions: How have mandatory music history courses at NMH been described in the curriculum through fifty years and to what extent is there accordance between the formal descriptions and the teachers’ practice as they express it? What changes have taken place in music history teaching at NMH in the period 1973–2023? The research is based on written material in the form of curricula and course descriptions, as well as qualitative interviews with fifteen former and current teachers at NMH. The article highlights issues related to what is formulated in the written curricula, the teachers’ perceptions of what they actually did and the teachers’ own reflections on what they believe is essential in music history teaching at NMH. The text presents themes and issues that have been common to the teaching of music history in several study programmes, such as classical music, Norwegian traditional music, improvised music and jazz, music education, composition and church music – both in terms of how music history teaching has been organised and carried out, as well as which themes have been emphasised. In conclusion, the article discusses the ways in which music history can be relevant for music students, both during the course of study and with regard to the working life the students will be a part of after graduation.