Milena Amann-Rauter is an Austrian musicologist and teacher. She holds a PhD in Musicology from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, a Magister degree in Music Education and French from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and the University of Vienna, as well as degrees in orchestral conducting and violin from the École Normale de Musique de Paris and the Conservatoire de Musique et de Danse Aulnay-sous-Bois. In 2024, she graduated “sub auspiciis praesidentis” at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and was honored by the Austrian Federal President, Alexander van der Bellen, for her outstanding academic achievements. A graduation “sub auspiciis praesidentis” requires excellent grades in all upper classes of secondary school and a matriculation examination (Matura) with distinction, very good grades in all partial and final examinations of the diploma (bachelor/master) and doctoral studies, and the highest marks for the scientific written papers such as diploma/master thesis and dissertation. Milena Amann-Rauter achieved all of the above with a grade average of 1.0. Before her graduation “sub auspiciis”, she had already received an Appreciation Award of the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy in 2016 for her diploma thesis on seven different musical settings of the symbolist poem “Mandoline” by Paul Verlaine (published in 2016, Vienna: Hollitzer). In her PhD thesis (published in 2023, Munich: Text + Kritik), Milena Amann-Rauter examined the contributions of exiled musicians to the French Popular Front movement of the 1930s. In general, her research interests include, but are not limited to, Exile/Migration, Political Music, Music of the 20th Century, Transmediality, and Networks.

In addition to her academic work, she is a theatre and film director and also artistic director of the international theatre company .EVOLve, which she co-founded (including Volkstheater Wien, Schauspielhaus Wien). On the side, Barbara Wolfram also podcasts about gender and diversity portrayal and representation in her film studies podcast Ned wuascht – wir geh’n fisch’n together with Bianca J. Rauch and works politically activistic at KILL the TRAUERspiel, an initiative that works for more gender justice and diversity on Austrian stages.

“Avec mon arme, la musique”: Exiled Musicians and the French Popular Front

conducted at the Institute for Musicology and Interpretation Research/ Department of Musicology and Performance Studies/ mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Supervision: ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christian Glanz
Co-Supervision: Prof.in Dr.in Anna Langenbruch/ Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg

“Bread, Peace, Freedom” – this was the motto of the French Popular Front (Front Populaire), which governed France from 1936 to 1938. With its anti-fascist focus, the French Popular Front movement was appealing to refugees from Nazi Germany, providing them with a platform for political expression. Exiled musicians contributed to this movement by composing, performing, and agitating for the common cause. The dissertation of Milena Amann-Rauter sheds light on the multifaceted commitment of exiled musicians to the French Popular Front – encompassing their participation in agitprop and cabaret groups, involvement in political films and radio broadcasts, composition and performance of political pieces of music, as well as their reflections on political events during the Saar plebiscite campaign and the Workers’ Music Olympiad in Strasbourg. The key figures in this study include Paul Arma (1904–1987), Paul Dessau (1894–1979), Hanns Eisler (1898–1962), Joseph Kosma (1905–1969), Franz Landé (1893–1942), Marianne Oswald (1901–1985), Louis Saguer (1907–1991), Eberhard Schmidt (1907–1996), and Cora Schmidt-Eppstein (1900–1939). Methodologically, Milena Amann-Rauter employed a pluralistic approach, integrating various methodologies under the overarching concept of Histoire croisée. She combined elements of historical-critical methodology, network analysis, and music analysis to provide a comprehensive examination of the subject from diverse perspectives. In addition to analyzing sheet music, letters, memoirs, concert reviews, program booklets, films, and audio materials, the examination of press articles has proven valuable insights, revealing the significant role exiled musicians played in shaping the Popular Front movement.