1. Themes of nature were important and common in the nineteenth-century. This was the era of the first great landscape painters. Likewise composers often were attracted to country scenes for their programmatic music, especially features of their native land. Beethoven gave titles to the movements of his “Pastoral” Symphony; he called the second one “Scene in the Country.” One of Schuber’s songs is “The Trout,” about a trout swimming in a brook. Berlioz featured a country scene in his Symphonie fantastique. 

2. As your students listen to “The Moldau,” point out the river theme and have them keep track of how many times they hear it. This theme acts as a unifying device. At the same time, discuss how Smetana alters this theme to indicate the size and/or swiftness of the river.

3. You might want to explore with your students the nature of the symphonic poem, comparing it to nonprogrammatic works and coupling that discussion with the relationship of poetry to prose. How does a programmatic work convey the program to the listener? Are program notes required, or can music alone tell the complete story? 

4. Much of the nationalistic movement was motivated not only by national pride, but also resentment of foreign rule. Composers took a certain amount of risk when they performed music based on their national heritage.