About the Book

Nationalism in Europe resonates through music–from folk songs to marches, from operas to anthems–giving voice in this reference resource to the makers of modern history. As the modern European nation-state emerged during the Enlightenment, music provided a fundamental language for nationalist movements. Today, music is no less a force of transformation, whether in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism or in Western European nations, whose identities are being reshaped by immigrants and refugees. Focus: Music of European Nationalism surveys the intersection of music and nationalism by tracing its historical development and documenting its persistence today. Contrasting different types of music reveals how music expresses core ideas of nationalism, for example, folk music in the nineteenth century and popular music in the twenty-first. The book also examines music-making that defies easy classification, but rather cuts across class and ideological divisions: national anthems, military music, and national folk ensembles in Eastern Europe, Music that defines ethnic and cultural groups without being explicitly nationalistic, such as klezmer and Roma (Gypsy) music, is also featured.