The Classical Music Book

A

s the 19th century

progressed, a growing

mood of nationalism

developed, and people sought

individual identities as nations

distinct from the old empires. The

dominant culture in Europe was

Germanic, and this was especially

true of the music being written for

the concert halls and opera houses.

A tradition of folk music thrived

almost everywhere, as regional and

local cultures of the many different

people asserted themselves. It was

this that provided the inspiration

for composers wishing to establish

a musical identity that matched the

nationalistic ideals of their people.

Opera was an obvious starting

point, as it could be based on

national history and legends, but

the same ideas were also expressed

in programmatic orchestral works.

Nationalism in music did not

confine itself to subject matter.

Composers incorporated folk songs

and dances into their music or

composed their own melodies

using elements of a particular

tradition of folk music, such as

its scales and rhythms.

Russia leads

The first signs of nationalism

in music came from Russia,

which had started to assert its

independence from European

culture at the beginning of the

Romantic period. Mikhail Glinka’s

operas were based on Russian

stories, with Russian folk tunes

presented in the Romantic style,

inspiring more than a century of

distinctively Russian music. Quick

to take up the baton, Mily Balakirev

gathered together a group of

Russian composers who became

known as the “Five” or “Mighty

Handful” (Aleksandr Borodin,

César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky,

and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov),

whose work later influenced Pyotr

Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Alexander

Glazunov, and, in the 20th century,

Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The wave of nationalism gained

momentum in the mid-19th century,

especially as the Austro-Hungarian

Empire crumbled. Countries were

proud of their own folk culture, and

especially their music. Chopin

tinged much of his piano music

with inflections of folk melodies

from his native Poland, and wrote

several polonaises, while Liszt

incorporated Hungarian dance

styles into his work. More overtly

nationalistic was Bedrˇ ich Smetana,

who became a champion of Czech

INTRODUCTION

1863

1869

1887–1890

1890

1874

1875

1893

Gabriel Fauré’s

Requiem introduces

a new, more subtle

style to the form,

inspiring other

French composers.

Mily Balakirev

establishes the “Five,”

a group of Russian

composers who sought

to create music with a

Russian identity.

Russian composer

Modest Mussorgsky

writes Pictures at an

Exhibition, inspired by the

death of the Russian artist

Viktor Hartmann.

In Norway, Edvard

Grieg completes the

music for Henrik Ibsen’s

Peer Gynt. Based on a

folk tale, the work

becomes a national epic.

Bed rˇ ich Smetana

establishes Czech opera

with The Bartered Bride,

incorporating Czech

themes and written in

the Czech language.

Antonín Dvo rˇ ák’s

Symphony No. 9,

inspired by Native

American music and

African American

songs, premieres.

One of Russia’s “Five,”

Aleksandr Borodin

adapts the 12th-century

epic prose poem The Lay

of Igor’s Host to develop

his opera Prince Igor.

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