Nationalism enjoyed new life after 1900. Some of the most impressive nationalists were also among the earliest modernists, among them Béla Bartók in Hungary, Charles Ives in the United States, and — most important — Igor Stravinsky in Russia. We examine this new nationalism in Chapters 21 and 22, restricting ourselves here to a listing of the main late Romantic nationalists outside of Russia.

Bohemia Bohemia, as the Czech Republic was then called, produced two eminent national composers: Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884), who wrote the symphonic poem Vltava (The Moldau) and the delightful folk opera The Bartered Bride, and Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904), composer of the popular Slavonic Dances as well as important symphonies and other large-scale works. Dvořák also spurred nationalist music in a distant land he visited — the United States of America.

Scandinavia The Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) wrote sets of piano miniatures with titles such as Norwegian Mountain Tunes, which were very popular at the time; also a well-known suite of music for Peer Gynt, the great drama by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.

Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), a powerful late Romantic symphonist, produced a series of symphonic poems on the folklore of his native Finland: The Swan of Tuonela, Kullervo, Finlandia, and others.

Spain Among Spanish nationalists were Enrique Granados (1867–1916), Joaquín Turina (1882–1949), and Manuel de Falla (1876–1946), best known for his Nights in the Gardens of Spain for piano and orchestra. Spain was also a favorite locale for exotic compositions with a Spanish flavor written by Frenchmen — among them Bizet’s opera Carmen and orchestral pieces by Emmanuel Chabrier (España), Claude Debussy (Ibéria), and Maurice Ravel (Boléro).

Great Britain The major English nationalist in music was Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958). His Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is a loving meditation on a tune written by an English composer from the time of Queen Elizabeth I, while his Folk Song Suite, incorporating traditional English melodies, remains a staple of the concert band repertory.

Less well known is Irish composer Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924), who wrote Irish Rhapsodies for orchestra and the opera Shamus O’Brien.