Symphony performing a concert Symphony performing a concert at Svetlanov Hall, Moscow International House of Music. © Pavel Losevsky/FotoliaSymphonies in this sense began to be composed during the so-called in European music history, about 1740–1820. The early part of this period and the decade immediately preceding it are sometimes called pre-Classical, as are the symphonies written before about 1750. During the 19th century, which included the, symphonies grew longer, and composers concerned themselves with ways of unifying the movements; extramusical programs and new approaches toward (the major-minor system of chord progressions) were among the solutions to the problems of large-scale symphonic form. Late in the century, symphonies—and orchestras—had grown to such an extent that reaction set in, culminating in the Neoclassical movement of the early 20th century, in which composers turned again toward principles of balance and formal, using new techniques to achieve.
Economic considerations forced a reduction in the size of orchestras and amount of rehearsal time available to mid-20th-century composers, further justifying a return to less extravagant symphonic thinking.Throughout the 19th century, however, a number of outstanding symphonists were able to the demands of fashion with strict musical logic. These composers represent the mainstream of symphonic activity, and their works remained models for much 20th-century activity in the. Throughout the following article two concerns predominate: a survey of the chief symphonic works and composers and consideration of the evolution of symphonic thought. The concept of symphony before c. 1750The word was used by the Greeks in reference to notes sounding together in and by extension meant an “ ” or “band” rather than a.
The word implies a pleasant concord of different notes and has been used in fields other than music to denote a pleasing combination of various elements. In the (King James Version), symphōnia is translated as “musick,” as distinct from choroi, “dancing.” In the the name was given to several, among them a double-headed, bowed, a large,. Mention is made in 1582 of eine Symphonie, evidently a stringed.
The symphony is one of the central forms of Classical music and one that has something new to say to each generation. Typically, a symphony is a multi-movement, multi-character work for orchestra, with origins in the sinfonias that served as curtain-raisers for operas in the early 17th century. In the Classical era, Haydn perfected the form, which would bring forth masterpieces from Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Sibelius, Shostakovich, Ives, and so many others. As it developed, symphonies began to encompass more than abstract musical ideas, embracing programmatic narratives, nationalistic characteristics, and modern compositional techniques such as serialism. Even in the 21st century, when the costs -- financial and otherwise -- of performing such large-scale works can seem prohibitive, composers like Einojuhani Rautavaara, Philip Glass, and Tan Dun are still compelled to write them.
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Title/Composer | Performer | Stream |
---|---|---|
Symphony No. 3 in E flat major ('Eroica'), Op. 55 | Daniel Barenboim / Otto Klemperer | |
Symphony No. 9 in D minor ('Choral'), Op. 125 | Charles Mackerras / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment | |
Symphony No. 41 in C major ('Jupiter'), K. 551 | Claudio Abbado / Orchestra Mozart | |
Symphony No. 9 in D minor ('Choral'), Op. 125 | Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Herbert von Karajan / Anna Tomowa-Sintow | |
Symphony No. 2 in C minor ('Resurrection') | Mariss Jansons / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | |
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 | Marin Alsop | |
Symphonie fantastique for orchestra ('Episode de la vie d'un Artiste...en cinq parties'), H.48 (Op. 14) | Marc Minkowski | |
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 | John Eliot Gardiner | |
Symphony No. 6 in B minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 74 | Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra / Yevgeny Mravinsky | |
Symphony No. 3 in D minor | Jonathan Nott |