National composer

National Composer is an ideological term for a composer whose musical work is universally characterized by national symbols and elements beyond a high popularity enjoyed by the public of him belonging to the nation and is recognized internationally as a major musical creator.

Term

The concept is similar to that of the national poet, however, no historical past, with official titles (such as poet laureate ). The term originated in the 19th century in the course of nationalist or patriotistischer movements, especially as composers of smaller, under foreign rule states intertwined elements of folk music into their works or other kind of concise national symbols set to music (national schools). However, few composers of a national school are considered national composer due to the popularity criterion. As a national composer applicable musicians understood not necessarily themselves as such.

Comparable concepts in the Romantic provide in musicological and historical research for disagreements in the National designation of individual composers such as Ludwig Senfl ( Germany / Switzerland ) and Georg Friedrich Handel ( Germany / England).

Dissemination

National composers are found mainly in Scandinavia: Hugo Alfvén (Sweden), Niels Wilhelm Gade (Denmark), Edvard Grieg (Norway ), Jón Leif ( Iceland ) and Jean Sibelius (Finland ) are regarded as leading composers of the Nordic romance. In Eastern Europe, many national composer to be worshiped: Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák (both Bohemia / Czech Republic), Frédéric Chopin, Stanisław Moniuszko (both Poland), Béla Bartók (Hungary ), Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (Lithuania ), Mykola Lysenko (Ukraine) and Aram Khachaturyan ( Armenia).

Even in smaller Western European countries, there were few national composer, even without the " national" compose: Josef Gabriel Rheinberger ( Liechtenstein ) and Jean -Antoine battlements ( Luxembourg ) are in their home countries because of their importance national identification figures. In Switzerland, Hans Huber is known as a patriotic, working in a romantic composer width, but does not have a status comparable to a national composer. In Ireland, especially the baroque composer Turlough O'Carolan harp is revered as a national composer.

In the autocratic nation states of the 19th century with a large and popular music tradition, such as Germany, Italy and France, no composers were revered in a similar way. However, musicians such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner and Anton Bruckner had been stylized in Nazi Germany for propaganda purposes to national composer, because in their music in the sense of the regime " German national ideals," reflected ..