Nationalistic Music
• Within the classical tradition, nationalistic
composers emerged from the Romantic-Classical
era. They set the stage for more explicit political
content that emerged in music in the 20th century.
• Beethoven pre-dated this, but his music was still
used for nationalistic purposes as late as in the
20th century. This does not make Beethoven a
“nationalistic” composer, strictly speaking. But
his music served the same role.
• In the post-World War II era, West German
culture thoroughly distanced itself from the
use of Beethoven’s music for any political
purposes. Thus, we saw the cessation of the
creation of Beethoven myths there.
• However, in East Germany, a new
Beethoven myth emerged which sought to
describe Beethoven in revolutionary terms
that found correspondence with socialist or
communist thinking.
• All this (on both sides of the German divide) ended with
the post-cold war unification of Germany.
• Beethoven’s music again became a symbol for the newly
re-emerged German nation.
• In particular, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was seen in
starkly political terms.
• Leonard Bernstein, in a concert in Berlin shortly after the
collapse of East Germany in 1989, allowed the words to
Schiller’s poem in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to be
changed to “freedom” rather than “joy” so as to openly
acknowledge the new and positive political use of the
piece.
• In this moment, Beethoven’s music was truly nationalistic,
even though Beethoven himself was not.
• But in the 19th century, nationalistic
composers became something of a
movement.
• Nationalism in music was largely a
response to the political upheavals of the
1800’s.
• Newly formed or re-invigorated nations had
populaces that had vibrant cultural identities
that competed with the identities of other
peoples in nearby nations.
• Largely influenced by Franz Liszt. Liszt was a
virtuoso pianist who wrote music that could
display his performance capabilities. He also
wrote works such as the “Hungarian Rhapsodies”
that distinctly embraced musical themes that were
nationally defined.
• In other nations, other composers followed Liszt’s
lead and wrote music that similarly expressed
nationalistic themes that reflected domestic
musical traditions as well as historical
experiences.
Modest Mussorgsky (1839-81)
• Mussorgsky was one of five Russian
composers (commonly referenced as “The
Mighty Five”) who attempted to create
music that would reflect the Russian
experience. He and Nicolai RimskyKorsakov (1844-1908) were the most
influential of the five.
• For example, Mussorgsky wrote the opera
“Boris Godunov” based on the Russian poet
Alexander Pushkin’s tragedy involving the
rise and fall of the Russian Czar Boris.
• Mussorgsky expressed stark emotions in his
music, emotions that most Russians could
understand as part of a common historical
legacy.
Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904)
• In what is now a major part of the Czech Republic
(former Czechoslovakia), Dvorák wrote music
with Bohemian themes, including folk dances that
were incorporated into his music with striking
innovation. “Slavonic Dance,” No. 8, opus 46 is a
particularly interesting example of this. He often
used the third movements of his symphonies to
convey Bohemian musical content. (See
Symphony No. 9).
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
• Even in his lifetime, Sibelius was somewhat
of a national hero.
• His work, “Finlandia,” is often compared
with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with
respect to its patriotic energy.
• Most of his Sibelius’s symphonies are
known worldwide, although he wrote many
smaller pieces that are better known in
Finland.
• In general, it was Sibelius’s concentration
on Finnish mythologies as well as his strong
personal sense of Finnish nationalism that
bonded he and his national compatriots
together.
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
• Vaughan Williams worked with a variety of musical
venues, including radio and film as well as the more
traditional choral and chamber settings.
• His interest was in British folk and cultural themes from
his contemporary times to more deeply historical periods.
• Two works by Vaughan Williams of particular interest are
his well-known “London” Symphony No. 2 and the
“Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.”
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)
• Albéniz was one of the great Spanish
musical originators who infused the
Romantic era with music with a Spanish
flavor.
• Manuel de Falla and others followed his
lead.
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
• Manuel de Falla infused the classical style
with distinctly Spanish motifs.
• In particular, see the ballet, “The ThreeCornered Hat.”
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
• Early American composers followed
European traditions. Ives was the first who
broke from that mold and created truly
“American” music.
• Creating a path of combining
unconventional rhythms with dissonant tone
combinations, Ives pioneered a departure
from existing musical expectations.
• Other American composers were equally
radical in their approach to creating an
“American” style of music.
• John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)
• Scott Joplin (1868-1917)
• Aaron Copland (1900-90)