Romantic Music and Czech Nationalism
Research Question : To what extent did Romanticism in music contribute to the rise of nationalism in 19th-century Bohemia? In the 19th century, Bohemia was ruled by the oppressive Austrian Habsburg Empire. During the early 19th-century, the European revolutions gave birth to a new political concept—nationalism. Simultaneously, nationalist movements emerged in Bohemia, aiming to revive the Czech culture (Royde-Smith; Kohn). Alongside, Romanticism appeared in European music. Romanticism consisted of rich emotions, strong narratives, and incorporation of ideas like nationalism (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “ Romanticism - Music”). The phenomenal coincidence of nationalism and Romanticism led artists to explore novel ideologies and embody them in their works. In particular, the music world significantly impacted Czech nationalism. Composers Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák utilized Romantic music to convey their nationalist ideas to the public. Bedřich Smetana ...