Czech and Slovak Music Theory in the Long 19th Century and It’s Contextual Transformations
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| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | 19th century brings many changes to the life of the Czech and Slovak nations. It is a century of national maturation and self-awareness. The Slavic nations, which are part of the Habsburg Empire, are experiencing a revival and self-identification. In music, those tendencies of national self-awareness, spreading throughout Europe, are manifested in numerous ways, and the expansion of national musical cultures is collectively integrated into the notion of "the emergence of national schools." Areas outside the traditional centers are developing remarkable, new musical trends in the 19th century. Russia, Poland, Hungary, and the Nordic countries have given European music culture many valuable, creative contributions and impulses, and this is no different for the Czech lands and the territory of today's Slovakia. In the work of Jan Václav Tomášek (1774-1850), Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884), Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904), Zdeněk Fibich (1850-1900), or Ján Levoslav Bella (1843 - 1936) the new idea of the national music matures. Thus a new cultural statement of two, previously marginalised, nations is created. Music theory has an irreplaceable place in those emancipation processes. A radical change in the relationship between music theory and music practice is taking place with the establishment of conservatories. The new institutional infrastructure thus creates an environment for the development of new genres of music theory. Along with the establishment of musicology at European universities, a science-oriented music theory is also developing. With the emergence of the first systematics of musicology, attention is paid to the disciplinary structure of music theory as well. These - and other - changes in music theory are well traceable in cultures experiencing a national revival, and establishing national music schools. The paper will focus on the transformations of Czech and Slovak music theory in the long 19th century, mapping these transformation processes from the perspective of variously applied prism of centers and peripheries, and following the mechanisms of the complex development of music theory in the evolutionary environment. |
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