Chapter 18:The Late Romantics

Nationalism

Key Terms

Nationalism

Exoticism

Kuchka

Nationalism (1)

Many struggles for national independence• Romanticism’s passion for freedom• Greeks struggled against Turks, Poles against

Russia, Czechs against Austria, & Norway against Sweden

Consciousness of national character grew• People now prized their own artistic heritages

Gave rise to nationalism in music• Incorporation of national folk music into

concert pieces, songs, & operas• Romantic individuality now a national ideal!

Nationalism (2)

How do you evoke national character?• Quote folk songs, patriotic songs, & national

hymns, anthems, or dances• Use folk tales, legends, or stories from your

nation’s history – e.g., Borodin’s Prince Igor• Draw on national literary traditions• Draw on national landmarks or geographical

features – e.g., Smetana’s Vltava (The Moldau)

Opera, songs, & program music favored• Works that require words or a story

Nationalism (3)

Nationalist music stirred strong emotions at home –

• And made an effective ambassador abroad

Many nationalists declared independence from European mainstream

• Germans, French, & Italians not considered nationalists – they were the dominant culture

• To develop a new, truly local style, nationalists often broke rules of harmony, form, etc.

Exoticism

Audiences came to enjoy folk music• Whether their own or someone else’s

Composers often evoked sounds of other cultures

• Verdi (Italian) – Egyptian music for Aida• Bizet (French) – Spanish music for Carmen• Dvorák (Czech) – American music for his New

World Symphony

Sounds used for their exotic atmosphere• Not for nationalistic self-definition

The Russian Kuchka

Close group of five Russian nationalists• Nicknamed moguchaya kuchka by critic friend• Kuchka = group or clique• Often called “Mighty Five” or “Mighty Handful”• Included Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Musorgsky, &

Rimsky-Korsakov

All determined to make Russian music truly “Russian”

• Deep interest in collecting folk song• Committed to self-improvement as composers

Modest Musorgsky(1839-1881)

Held military & clerical positions• Came to composition late in life

Joined the kuchka in his 20s• Relied on Rimsky-Korsakov for guidance• Intense vision of a truly Russian music• He became the most radical of the “Five”

Wrote operas, songs, & program works• Boris Godunov was his masterpiece

Unstable personality, filled with doubts• Died at 42 of alcoholism & epilepsy

Musorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition

A set of character pieces for solo piano• Scored for orchestra by Ravel in 1922

Title refers to a memorial art exhibit• Works by Victor Hartmann, Russian nationalist

painter who had recently died

Each character piece depicts a painting• Promenades provide music for walking from

one painting to the next• Promenades also provide some overall unity

Promenade [1]

Promenade theme recalls a Russian folk song (breaks with European norms)

• Changing, irregular meters – 5/4 and 6/4• Angular melodic contours• Mostly based on a simple pentatonic scale

Forceful theme orchestrated for brass instruments at first

• Later for woodwinds & strings

“Gnomus” (1)

Drawing of a Russian folk-art nutcracker• The gnome’s jaws crack the nut when the legs

(handles) are pulled together

Macabre music for this grotesque figure• Lurching rhythms depict gnome’s clumsy gait• Striking dissonant harmonies & odd leaps• Eerie tone colors – pizzicato, glissando, mutes,

harmonics, trills, & stopped horn

Form alternates between three ideas• A B A C A C A C A C B A’

“Gnomus” (2) & Promenade [2]

Many features of “Gnomus” break with European norms

• Rhythms, dissonant harmonies, form, etc.

Promenade [2]Same basic tune as before

• But now quieter, more musing

“The Great Gate at Kiev” (1)

Hartmann’s fanciful architectural design• Not a real gate in Kiev

A magnificent solemn processional• Clashing cymbals, clanging bells, & chanting

Russian priests

A truly grandiose, bone-rattling ending• Orchestra pulls out all the stops with timpani,

triangle, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam, and bells (see Hartmann’s painting!)

• Theme slows to half-speed at the end

“The Great Gate at Kiev” (2)

Overall form – A B A B C A

A & B are real Russian melodies• A – Majestic processional theme

• B – Quiet Russian hymn with rich harmonies

• C – Promenade theme woven in one last time

Other Nationalists

Many nationalist composers in countries outside of Russia

• Bohemia (Czech Republic) – Smetana, Dvorák• Norway – Grieg• Finland – Sibelius• Denmark – Nielsen• Spain – Granados, Turina, Falla• Great Britain – Elgar, Vaughan Williams• United States – Gottschalk, MacDowell