THE GREAT COMPOSERS
written by Wendy Thompson
published by Hermes House
The Rise of Nationalism
Music Sets #371 - 389
Key features of the Nationalist Movement:-
* Up to the 19th century, Italian opera style and German symphonic style were copied in Europe.
* Towards the middle of the 19th century, composers started to become aware of cultural difference between nations, an awareness prompted partly by political events, and partly through individualism.
* Although the European Revolutions of 1848 failed, and autocratic rule tottered on in some countries until WW1, a new spirit of nationalism spread into the culture and the arts.
* In music, this patriotic fervor encouraged composers to seek inspiration in their national roots, particularly folk culture. Russia and central European areas were particularly receptive to the new spirit of nationalism.
Source: The Great Composers
Glinka was the first Russian composer to draw inspirations from Russian folk song and dances, and his example was taken up by Balakirev and his four disciples, known as The Five. They in turn influenced Tchaikovsky, whose music, while not nationalistic, is still recognizably Russian in inspiration.
Tchaikovsky (top left) & The Five
The Five -- Counter-clockwise from bottom left, in the composite photo:
- Mily Balakirev (the leader)
- César Cui **
- Alexander Borodin
- Modest Mussorgsky
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
** César Cui was the least important. His works have now disappeared from the repertoire.
** César Cui was the least important. His works have now disappeared from the repertoire.
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