A Study of European Music Institutions from the Perspective of Phra Chen Duriyang: An Analysis of His 1937 Travel Report

Abstract

This academic article aims to extract knowledge from the travel records of
Phra Chen Duriyanga’s trip to Europe in the year 2480 BE (1937 AD). It focuses on the case of visiting various music educational institutions across different regions. The study found that knowledge gained from traveling to various educational institutions was beneficial to
Phra Chen Duriyanga’s subsequent work, particularly in the knowledge of Western music ensembles brass band and military band. Although it can be inferred that Phra Chen Duriyanga’s already possessed some of this knowledge, it was acquired not through direct travel to the Western countries but through self-research from foreign language textbooks. The knowledge extracted from Phra Chen Duriyanga’s travel records helps to expand the overall understanding of the history of Western music education in Thailand, demonstrating the origins and applications of the knowledge used to develop Western music in Thailand, which has since been further developed up to the present.