Reception of Czech and Latvian music by German music critics in Riga in the late 19th and early 20th centuries : some comparative aspects

Abstract

The second half of the 19th century is the time when in the art music created by the composers who represent conditionally small nations the efforts to prove their national identity were manifested stronger than ever previously. How was this process perceived by the music critics representing other, larger nations, and was the reception influenced only by purely musical factors, or also by the historically established relations between national communities? The paper is searching at least partial answer to this question researching the assessments of the Czech and Latvian music in the Riga German music critic in the late 19th and early 20th century.