While 19th century Western Europe music includes different styles and schools, there is no such division among Russian composers. During that time Russia marks a period of real national upsurge in enhancing the Russian nation. For this reason, the Russian composers turn back to the traditional village folklore and consider it basic for the future development of Russian musical culture. Glinka was the first to look back to the Russian musical heritage. His works provide a basis for the Russian classical music school. The realistic traditions in his music are followed also by the next generation of composers.
At the end of the 50s and the beginning of the 60s a group of composers (Balakirev, Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Cui) created the group “The Five”, dedicated to the production of a specifically Russian brand of music and truthful representation of real life. They follow the path of Glinka and Dargomizhsky in creating works which are closely connected to folk art. However, they also stand out with their brilliant artistic talent and the innovations they made in opera, symphonic and chamber music. Tchaikovsky also shares their outlook. He often uses Russian folklore, but is interested mainly in the inner life of man, and not in large-scale historical dramas. In this sense, his music is more closely related to everyday romance, than to the traditional folklore. Tchaikovsky also creates a new type of ballet music. Music had mainly accompaniment functions before him. He makes it stand on its own in the whole performance. By employing the expressive means of symphonic music, the composer reveals the dramatic content of the work.
20th century composers are also influenced by their predecessors. They develop the folk traditions and enrich them with the expressive means of their time.