Transcending Nationalism?

The European music world at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century was characterised by national ideas and nationalistic ideologies. But the reality of the music itself seems quite different: inspiration did not stop at national borders, and composers sought out poetic material and artistic goals outside the traditions of their homeland. It was often music critics and later music historians who put the works and their creators in a strict national context. In Eastern Europe, traditions of national music writing have been particularly well preserved, with effects that continue to this day. The texts in this volume attempt to suggest alternative readings, to reveal nationalistic stereotypes, and to place the music back in the transnational complexity and richness of its origins.