Romantic lecture 19/9/2016
European Nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries
The boundaries of borders did not reflect the
boundaries of the languages
1789 French Revolution
1800s Napoleonic wars
1815 Waterloo then congress of Vienna
1830 and 1848: Revolutionary uprisings across
Europe, key years in European history and musical
history
1870 Franco-Prussian war
1871 Unification of Germany (and Italy)
music like everything else in the world is subject to
the laws of evolution Vaughan Williams
many young composers make the mistake of
imagining they can be universal without at first
having been local
Beethoven represented a certain type of ideal that
people aspired too
3 ways to reflect your national identity in music
Association with Nationalistic, subject matter (myths,
legend, imagery, melodies, words etc) and patriotic
causes
Use of folk music (providing distinctive scales and
rhythms) as an authentic representation of the
people
`Develop a language from the nature of the folk
music itself
Develop music from the characteristic rhythm and
inflection of the spoken language
In Hungarian the emphasis of words is always on the
first syllable thus Bartok in his music reflects this
through often having accents on the first beat
Smetana Father of Czech music
Relatively little early success as pianist, composer or
teacher, supporter of Liszt Here is a composer with
genuine Czech heart an artist by the grace of God
Family tragedies three of his four daughters died
between 1854 and 1856, his first wife in 1859
1856-1859 some success as conductor and pianist in
Sweden where he writes his first symphonic poems
and starts to learn/write in the Czech language
I am not ashamed to tell you in my mother tongue
however imperfectly and am glad to be able to show
you that my fatherland means more to me then
anything else
Influences by New German School including Berlioz,
Liszt and Wagner
Little interest in purely abstract music or absolute
music
He is mainly known for his operas and symphonic
poems though he did write some important chamber
music (Piano trio of 1855, 2 string quartets from 1876
and 1883) and some piano music
Three influential operas in the 1860s were written
during a great upsurge in national culture in
Bohemia:
The Brandenburgers in Bohemia 1863, The Bartered
Bride 1866 (Strong folk influence)
1872-9 composed a vast orchestral monument to his
nation, 6 symphonic poem cycle
Smetana was the first major nationalist composer of
Bohemia. He gave his people a new musical identity
and self confidence by his technical assurance and
originality
Dvorak (1841-1904) The greatest Czech composer
Usually portrayed as a stable, successful bourgeois
man of music (but this view has been challenged)
Romantic musical language but with strong Classical
elements Neither conservative nor radical
During the 1860s he was a violist in Prague Theatre
orchestra (conducted by Smetana)
There was growing recognition of him as a composer
during the 1870s due to the supportive efforts of
Brahms and Hanslick. He resisted their attempts to
have him move to Vienna.
Sincere Czech loyalties were evident throughout
He undertook numerous operatic projects throughout
his life
Both Schubert and Dvorak spent a lot of time in the
field of opera which is not largely recognized
His skills were more lyric than dramatic
His operas are less highly regarded (and less
frequently performed) than his symphonic and
chamber music
He also wrote some fine choral music, including
Stabat Mater (1877) and a Requiem (1890)
Together with Brahms, he remains the most
important composer of chamber music in the second
half of the 19th century
Works including 12 string quartets, 4 piano trios
(including Dumky op.90) a piano quartet and
quintet, 3 String Quintets and a sextet
Best known for his orchestral works
Slavonic dances, 9 symphonies including 5 th,
6th,7th,18th symphony 1875,80,85,92
Symphonic poems in 1896
3 concertos for violin, cello and piano
Achieved much fame and popularity during his life
especially in England from 1884 though this waned
with much criticism in the early 20th century
1888 meets Tchaikovsky
1890 visits Russia
1890 teaches composition at Prague Conservatory
1892-1895 He moves to the United States (appointed
head of the New York conservatory) where he
composes Symphony number 9 From the New
World Cello Concerto and his American quartet
among other works
1895 he returned to Prague
Later Czech composers
Dvoraks son in law and a prominent violinist and
composer. Asreal Symphony 1906
Leos Janacek (1854-1928)
His major works appeared after 1900 and his best
works come from the last decade of his life. Some
folk influence though more importantly he developed
s musical language based on the natural spoken
rhythms and inflections of his native language. (In
this respect similar to Mussorgsky, Debussy and
Bartok) Some fine instrumental works though mostly
known for an impressive series of operas including
Jenufa (1903), The Excursions of Mr Broucek 1917)
Some other Nationalist Movements
Russia: Glinka, Borodin, Mussorgsky, Tchaik,
Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich
England: Edward Elgar (1857-1934) Enigma
Variations and the dream of Gerontious established
his reputation as the leading English composer, Cecil
Sharp (1859-1924) Undertook serious study of
English folksong in first decade of the century and
was largely responsible for the widespread
awareness of this valuable heritage. Vaughan
Williams, Holst, Bax, Finzi, Walton, Delius
Spain: Unlike most European music, the influence of
Wagner was negligible on Spanish music but instead
French music, the tradition of Spanish Folk opera and
folk influences
Scandinavia: Norway Edvard Grieg, Finland Jean
Sibelius (1865-1957) Composed seven symphonies
from late 1890s though to mid 1920s. Very little
substantial music composed after Tapiola. Though he
rarely used authentic folk material, his mature music
is saturated with nationalist qualities. Often
concerned ..
Hungary: Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967)
United States
