The Music of European Nationalism: Cultural Identity and Modern History surveys the intersection of music and nationalism by tracing its historical development and documenting its persistence today. Contrasting different types of music reveals how music expresses core ideas of nationalism, for example, folk music in the 19th century and popular music in the 21st.

The book also examines music-making that defies easy classification, but rather cuts across class and ideological divisions: national anthems, military music, and national folk ensembles in Eastern Europe. Music that defines ethnic and cultural groups without being explicitly nationalistic, such as klezmer and Roma (Gypsy music, is also featured. The discussion of the interplay between nationalism and music is accessible to lay and specialist readers alike.