Sergei Prokofiev, Classical Symphony - Home Sergei Prokofiev, Classical Symphony Year piece was composed In 1917. and was first performed in 1918. ("First performance 1918-04-21 -- Petrograd: Former Court Orchestra, Sergei Prokofiev Conducted") By _______Geneva Stone______ Here is a picture of a standard symphony orchestra. The players are grouped together with their respective instruments while the conductor stays front and center. The conductor's main role is to direct the music being played such as keeping the timing and tempo accurate, or using body language to interpret and maintain the dynamics of the piece. This is the musical notation for the beginning violin in the symphony. The picture shows some of the virtuosic abilities needed to play the piece correctly. It consists of many notes with little spacing in between them. The piece also includes dynamics for the players to capture with their performance, meaning that not only does the piece require playing the notes at the right time, but also requires them to be played with the right amount of force and volume. By_______David________ Introduction Symphony No. 1 in D, Op.

25 “Classical Symphony” was composed in 1917 by Sergei Prokofiev at the age of 26. “Although the Classical Symphony fits the usual definition of neo-classicism, Prokofiev never admitted it. It was an isolated experiment, he explained, adding that he disliked Stravinsky’s preoccupation with neo-classicism, which he famously called ‘Bach on the wrong notes’” (Symphony *2 para 3). Prokofiev composed 7 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 2 violin concertos, 3 operas and 2 ballets, as well as many other piano pieces. He is well known for his contribution to Peter and the Wolf and Ivan the Terrible. (#works) Classical Symphony emulates Haydn's work but not strictly, “the idea occurred to me to compose an entire symphonic work without the piano,” Prokofiev remembered in his 1948 autobiography. “Composed in this fashion, the orchestral colors would of necessity be clearer and cleaner.

Thus the plan of a symphony in Haydnesque style originated, since as a result of my studies … Hayden’s technique had somehow become especially clear to me, and with intimate understanding it was much easier to plunge into dangerous flood without a piano/ it seemed to me that were he alive today, Haydn, while retaining his own style of composition, would have appropriated something from the modern” (Symphony, whole second paragraph). Symphony No. 1 is comprised of an “opening Allegro in sonata Form, a slow movement, a dance movement, … and finale” (Symphony, para 3). --Gail--- Analyze and Discuss 3 or more sections specifically analyzing and discussing the piece in terms of relevant "elements of Music" (timbre, form, dynamics, melody, word-music relationships, and so forth). form- sonata allegro The symphony is in four movements, and lasts only about ten to fifteen minutes: Timbre The timbre to the Classical Symphony No. 1 is very fast paced. The piece fluctuates in notes extremely fast and with sharp short bursts. Even the parts of the song where Prokofiev does not have many different instruments in the background, he still has quick paced notes.

There are not many times in the piece where there would be a note played and held for a long time. The piece has notes that are in a more high scale of notes. If you were to watch a conductor lead his musicians through the song you might think his arm could fall off from how many beats they go through and how fast the tempo is. Form The form of the Classical Symphony No.1 is Sonata Allegro. This means the piece goes in an ABA form with an exposition then development and finally a recapitulation. The dynamics to the Classical Symphony No.1 are fast played with many quick notes. It is played with a classical era orchestra consisting of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings. The skill level would be very high for those musicians that play the piece. It is a very flashy and dynamic piece of music. By______Alex Scott_________ Historical Content Historical context surrounding this piece or discussing a larger topic relating to this piece or this type of music.

By _____Chris______Prokofiev was born in a small village in what is now the Ukraine, where his father managed the estate of a wealthy landowner. He was a bright and precocious child who enjoyed writing and staging theatrical productions with his friends. His mother was a competent pianist, and it was from her that he received his first instruction in music. His musical talent quickly revealed itself, and at age thirteen he was enrolled in the Conservatory of Music at Saint Petersburg where Prokofiev spent ten years in. During that time he developed into a superb pianist and acquired a solid grounding in composition. After graduating from the Conservatory, Prokofiev set about establishing himself as a professional composer and pianist. He visited London, Paris and other cities in Western Europe and wrote a number of outstanding compositions, including his very popular “Classical” Symphony. Prokofiev’s found the inspiration for his first symphony in the music of Haydn. It is somewhat surprising that Prokofiev could fashion such a carefree score at a time when his native Russia was convulsed by war and revolution.

Prokofiev died by Cerebral Hemorrhage (bleeding into the brain) at the age of 61 on March 5, 1953 ; the day Joseph Stalin 's death was announced. Green Page Listening guide with timing modeled on the textbook's green pages. By_______Chris_______ (ref. 6) 1) What instruments are in the classical symphony? Answer: The picture shows the standard seating arrangement of a symphony orchestra. The instruments in a standard symphony orchestra include: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, the tuba, the harp, and the timpani or other percussion instruments. (ref. 8) 2) What does allegro mean? Answer: Allegro is an Italian musical term that means to play "in a quick and lively tempo". In live performances, the tempo is established by the orchestra following the conductor's signals. (ref.

7) By_______David_______ Biographical Profile of Composer Sergei Prokofiev was born in Sontosvka, Russian Empire in 1891 (Prokofiev, para 1). From a early age his mother started teaching him piano, by age five “[he] displayed unusual musical abilities” (Prokofiev, para 2). Music wasn’t Prokofiev’s only love, he also loved playing Chess and was quite good at it, through out his life he often had a chess board on his piano (Biography, para 1). For a time when he was young he “did not like to touch the black notes” (pro, para 3) so one of his early piano pieces was “written in F major, but without the customary B-flat” (pro, para 3). At the age of 13 years old, Prokofiev was accepted to the Saint Petersburg conservatory, where he trained until he was 23 years old when he left “with the highest marks of his class” (pro, para 7). He wrote his first symphony in 1917, ‘Classical’.

He left Russia and moved to the USA but didn’t say there long before moving to France (Paris). It wasn’t until 1934 that he moved back to Russia. It is said that the Soviet party lured Prokofiev back to Russia before closing their trap (Biogrphy, para 3). The Soviets began to restrict what Artist’s were allowed to publish and where they were allowed to go. After a time “Prokofiev’s music was… suddenly seen as a grave example of formalism, and generally dangerous to the Soviet people” (Pro, para 19). In 1953, after much hardship and restrictions by the Soviet Government, “Prokofiev died the same day and hour, as Stalin [the Communist party leader]” (Biography, para 4). Prokofiev is remembered for bringing “Strange new harmonies, dynamic rhythms and lots of humor” (Sergei, para 3). By _____Geneva_______ ps.. I have the resource infomation and will post them soon. I also know the citations are wrong and will be fixed before turned in, I just put them in this way for now, so we can see them.

6-8 notable pieces by that Composer Opera- “The Love for Three Oranges” “Third Symphony” (‘broadly based on his unperformed opera The Fiery Angel”) Ballet “Romeo and Juliet” , today one of Prokofiev’s best known works (prokofiev,) “peter and the Wolf” most widely known – (Sergei Prokofeiv) most successful- Fifth Symphony (op. 100) Opera- War and Peace (am working on refining and getting info about the pieces. but this is the list so far.) By______Geneva_______ 6-8 pieces that belong to the same form, genre, use the same instrument, or deal with the same subject matter. By ______Gail_______ Same instruments- Haydn-Symphony No. 105 in D major (ref. 8) Same instruments-Beethoven- Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Op. 55) (ref. 7) Form (Sonata Allegro)-Strauss- Symphony No. 2 (ref. 6) Form (Sonata Allegro)-Mozart-Haffner in D (ref.

5) Genre- Franz Schubert- Fifth symphony (ref. 4) Genre-Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach-Symphony in E-flat minor, Wq. 183/2 (ref. 3) Genre-Dmitri Shostakovich-Symphony No 5 in D minor Op 47 (ref. 2) Genre- Sergei Rachmaninoff-Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 3 No. 2 (ref. 1) References Page By ____Everyone_____ we will all put information for sited sources, but Gail will compile and format it. Be sure to indicate in your text information where the citation goes. (see above entry under 6-8 pieces that belong..., last entry) Please indicate what piece of information the source goes with and format according to APA standards. Need help go here: At the minimum I need the website, the author if there is one, date article was written, the name of the article and if it's a direct quote, the page or paragraph number and retrieval date.

If it's a book I need name of book, author or editor, year published, place published, publisher, volume number, page number Then post here like this: (Tell me what section it's for and indicate with a # in the body of your paragraph so I can insert the reference at the correct spot) 6-8 pieces that belong to the same form... ref. 1: , no author, no date, Not a direct quote, retrieved on 9/18/12 ref. 2: , Micheal Tilson Thomas, no date, not a direct quote, retrieved on 9/18/12 ref. 3: no author, no date, not a direct quote, retrieved on 9/18/12 ref. 4: ref. 5: New Standard Encyclopedia, editor- Douglas W. Downey, 1988, Chiicago, IL> Standard Educational Corporation, Vol 9 pg. m593b-m593c ref. 6: Brian Blackwell and Andre Dauwalder, no date, not a direct quote, retrieved on 10/21/12 ref.

7: Brandy Kraemer, no date, allegro, direct quote, retrieved on 10/21/12 ref. 8 no author, Apr. 18 2008, not a direct quote, retrieved on 10/21/12 ref. 9 , No author, 22 Aug 2012, not a direct quote, retrieved on 11/6/12 ref. 10 , No author, no date, not a direct quote, retrieved on 11/6/12 Create a free website Symphony - encyclopedia article - Citizendium This editable Main Article has an approved citable version (see its Citable Version subpage ). While we have done conscientious work, we cannot guarantee that this Main Article, or its citable version, is wholly free of mistakes. By helping to improve this editable Main Article, you will help the process of generating a new, improved citable version. (CC) Photo: Alton Thompson A concert hall , where symphonies are played. A symphony is a large-scale musical composition for an orchestra .

Since the late eighteenth century, composers have regarded the symphony as “the central form of orchestral composition”, similar to how writers of fiction regard the novel and filmmakers the feature film. [1] According to music historian Michael Kennedy, the symphony “is reserved by composers for their most weighty and profound orchestral thoughts, but of course there are many light-hearted, witty, and entertaining symphonies.” [2] In the present day the symphony is a principal element of orchestral concerts in the United States and Europe, and the very name "symphony orchestra", a common synonym for “orchestra”, attests to the symphony’s predominance in the classical concert hall. Contents History Beginnings  the Baroque (1600 - ca. 1750) and early Classical periods (ca. 1750 - 1770s) In the seventeenth century, a "sinfonia" was, most generally, a short instrumental piece that served as an introduction to a larger work, such as an overture to an opera or a cantata . However, the term could also refer to an instrumental work that stood alone, such as a concerto grosso (e.g.

Alessandro Stradella’s sinfonie a più istrumenti, "symphonies with more instruments"). Moreover, the terms "sinfonia", "concerto", and "trio sonata" were often used as synonyms. There were two general types of overture in the seventeenth century: the Italian opera sinfonia, exemplified by the works of Alessandro Scarlatti; and the French Overture, exemplified by the works of Jean-Baptiste Lully. Both types of overture were most often structured in three movements; however, the structure of an Italian sinfonia was fast-slow-fast, while that of a French Overture was slow-fast-slow. Regardless of the type, an overture was composed for a small orchestra (no more than fifteen players), was relatively easy to play, and was short in duration (typically six or seven minutes).

[3] During the eighteenth century, the overture or sinfonia as "symphony"an independent, multi-movement musical piece for concert performance with (as opposed to a concerto ) no one dominant instrumentdeveloped in various parts of Europe concurrently, particularly in Italy, as evidenced by works by Giovanni Battista Sammartini ; Vienna, notably by Georg Christoph Wagenseil and Georg Matthias Monn ; London, notably by Johann Christian Bach and Carl Friedrich Abel ; North Germany, where a group of early symphonists included Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach ; and Mannheim, Germany, where early symphonies were written by Johann Stamitz most especially. At this time the symphony was a structure still under development, and repeated experimentation was expanding the complexity of this relatively new musical form. Symphonies composed in the eighteenth century until the 1770s are referred to as “preclassical” and their composers as “preclassical symphonists”. [4] Why did the symphony grow in prominence? In the Baroque period, secular music for the first time became more prominent than sacred music.

New musical forms such as the sinfonia-as-proto-symphony registered this change wherein the concert hall, rather than the church, became the premier venue for which to compose music. The first collections of concert symphonies (still referred to as sinfonias) were published in various places in Europe, such as London, between 1740 and 1750. [5] Growth of the new musical form was also linked to the expansion of the concept of the orchestra itself. The court orchestras during the Baroque period expanded in size to comprise up to twenty players representing various families of musical instruments, particularly strings, woodwinds, and keyboard instruments. Whereas in 1700 most orchestras were private and supported by royalty, by the end of the eighteenth century orchestras for public concerts had become increasingly common, and symphonies were written to fulfill the demand for orchestral concert music. Most preclassical symphonies consisted of three movements.

Although some composers such as Monn had been experimenting with the four-movement symphony as early as 1740, four-movement symphonies did not become the norm until around 1770, the time of the birth of the "mature classic symphony". [6] The mature classic symphony (1770s - 1800) The symphony continued to grow in importance, complexity and scale during the eighteenth century. Over 16,000 symphonies were composed in this century, the majority of them during the years 1750 - 1770 by composers completely forgotten today. [7] In the period 1750 - 1770 the typical performance time of a symphony was anywhere from ten to twenty minutes. [8] For most of the eighteenth century up to the late 1770s, symphonies, when played in private settings, were generally considered background music for such social activities as card playing and socializing.

Nor were symphonies the central feature of a public concert program; rather, symphonies were typically scheduled at the beginning or end of a program, when the comings and goings of audience members were most voluble and intrusive. “Music was probably not ignored on such occasions so much as paid intermittent attention,” writes music scholar Richard Will. [9] In the second half of the eighteenth century, Franz Joseph Haydn wrote at least 104 symphonies, many of which experimented with the form (some have six movements, for example), and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote about 41 symphonies (the first at eight years old). [10] Haydn was the transitional point from the preclassical symphony to what is referred to as the mature classic symphony.

The fourteen symphonies Haydn composed between 1757 and 1761 exemplify many characteristics of the preclassical symphony, but in some ways they are already looking forward to the mature classic symphony, which Haydn (with his symphonies 42 - 56) and Mozart (including symphonies 25 and 29) arrived at by the mid 1770s. [11] Haydn and Mozart are considered the most celebrated composers of the Classical symphony. The strict terminology “symphony” arrived only after Haydn and Mozart had begun their symphonic labors; as late as 1766 symphonies could be advertised to the public (in London and in Holland, for example) not as symphonies but as “overtures”. By 1770, however, a program for a concert given by Mozart in Mantua uses the word “symphony”. [12] In the last quarter of the eighteenth century the term “symphony” became firmly established, so that, for example, by 1805 Beethoven would identify his Third Symphony on the title page as "Sinfonie".

[13] Flowering at the time of the “Age of Reason”, the classical symphony was marked by overall balance and intricate design in which structural symmetry was a general characteristic of each movement. (See, for example, the sonata-form , minuet , trio , and rondo .) The overall structure of the Classical symphony was typically in four movements and conformed to this pattern: (1) fast, (2) slow, (3) moderately fast, (4) quite fast. [14] The eighteenth century orchestra performing a classical symphony required no conductor, as the musicians were guided by the concertmaster (usually the first violinist) and the basso-continuo player. [15] The Classical symphony was also, compared to symphonies of subsequent centuries, "short and sweet": virtually all of Haydn’s symphonies each take no longer than 25 minutes to play, and Mozart’s take no more than 30 minutes. The mature symphonies of Haydn and Mozart took on new importance for listeners, who began to pay close attention to the music, as Mozart described in a letter of 3 July 1778.

[16] Symphonies began to occupy the central position in the programs of public concerts during the 1780s. [17] In his lifetime Haydn achieved great fame throughout Europe for his symphonies, many of which were published in various European capital cities, but only three of Mozart’s symphonies were published in Mozart’s lifetime. [18] Music scholars generally rate the late symphonies of both Haydn (his twelve London symphonies 1791 - 1795) and Mozart (his last four symphonies, including the Prague and the Jupiter) as the highest achievements of the mature classic symphony, which is sometimes referred to as the "Viennese Classical symphony". Beethoven's symphonies (1800 - 1823) Although Ludwig van Beethoven wrote only nine symphonies, in the process he single-handedly expanded the structure of the symphonic form.

Whereas Beethoven’s first two symphonies reflect closely the established style of the mature classic symphony, his Third Symphony, the Eroica (1804), was groundbreaking in terms of performance time, complexity of orchestration, andin the words of one music scholar contemporary with Beethovenits “colossal ideas”. [19] In Beethoven’s symphonies from the Eroica onward, range and density of sound, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, and thematic development all are experimented with, in the process advancing the scope and expression of the concept of the symphony. For his Fifth Symphony Beethoven expanded the size of the orchestra by adding new instruments, including the trombone, piccolo, and contrabassoon. [20] His Ninth Symphony (1823) was yet grander still: not only was it the longest symphony ever written at the time (it takes over an hour to perform), but it also featured the inclusion of human voices in the fourth movement. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony occupies a privileged position in the history of the symphony, equivalent in stature to the Mona Lisa among paintings; it is a one-of-a-kind phenomenon.

In fact, Beethoven’s achievement in the symphony transcends the category of the symphony. The four-note motif that begins Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, three quick G’s and a long E-flat, is perhaps the most famous musical phrase in classical music history. The Ninth Symphony occupies an honored position not only in the history of the symphony but also in the history of classical music itself. In recent years, Beethoven's Ninth has been played in world capitals to mark events of great significance. For example, the newly reunified city of Berlin celebrated the Fall of the Berlin Wall with a performance of the Ninth Symphony six weeks later on Christmas Day 1989 in the Schauspielhaus [21] ; and the BBC Proms revised its programme of 15 September 2001 ("The Last Night of the Proms") to include the choral finale from the Ninth Symphony to mark the tragic events of September 11, 2001. [22] Beethoven's achievement was also revolutionary in terms of the public reception of the genre of the symphony. With the advent of his masterworks, symphonies became and would remain the central feature of orchestra concert programs around the world, as they remain.

Moreover, unlike any of the symphonists preceding him, Beethoven achieved the singular accomplishment of having his complete set of symphonies published in his lifetime. [23] Beethoven’s symphonies were marked by what is generally referred to as “personal expression”, and acted as the passageway from the intellectual mature classic symphony to the emotional, lyrical, dramatic symphonies of the Romantic period of the nineteenth century. The Romantic period (19th century) After Beethoven, the symphony, in the hands of some composers, remained less a formal exercise and more a subjective expression of the composer’s inner experience. Two branches led from the pioneering work of Beethoven: symphonies written within the genre of the mature classic symphony, and those written within the genre of the expansive and expressive symphony. This latter branch would eventually characterize the main direction of the twentieth century symphony. During the years 1813 - 1825, Franz Schubert composed nine symphonies, most of which recall the Haydn and Mozart of the Classical symphony.

[24] His Eighth Symphony (Unfinished, 1822), however, is a major development in the history of the nineteenth century symphony, in terms of its innovations in scoring and its basis in lyric (i.e., emotional) experience. (Various music scholars describe this symphony’s “poetic eloquence”, “creative orchestration”, “tragically pungent spell”, “profound and tender feeling”, and “majestic inspiration”.) [25] Just as celebrated is Schubert's ninth symphony, The Great (1825), which has been described as “the last great Classical symphony”. [26] Felix Mendelssohn composed five symphonies between the years 1824 - 1832, which are closer in style to Mozart and the Classical symphony than Beethoven and the Romantic symphony. Robert Schumann composed four symphonies between the years 1841 - 1853, and while they are marked by some noteworthy experimentation, his symphonies generally reflect the style and structure of the Classical symphony.

Hector Berlioz ’s Symphonie fantastique (1830), subtitled “Episode in the Life of an Artist”, is an example of a “program symphony”, in which the musical piece has a thematic structure expressed by the composer (like Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, the Pastoral). The symphony “tells a story” rather than communicating abstract musical ideas. Charles Gounod remarked (aptly describing the ultimate history of the genre of the symphony), “With Berlioz all impressions, all sensations, whether joyful or sad, are expressed in extremes, at the point of delirium.” [27] Franz Liszt ’s Faust Symphony (1854) and Dante Symphony (1856) are also program symphonies recalling more the expressive content of Beethoven than the consistent formal structure of the Classical symphony. Synthesizing the two branches, Johannes Brahms composed four symphonies between 1876 and 1885, and he is generally described as the greatest composer of symphonies in the nineteenth century.

Significant influences on Brahms’s symphonies included both Schubert and Liszt [28] , but it was Beethoven whom Brahms described as “that giant whose steps I always hear behind me.” [29] Brahms's symphonies wed the compositional complexity of the Classical symphony with the highly expressive emotional scope of the Romantic symphony. Other high points of the nineteenth century expressive symphony include Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky , who composed six symphonies between 1866 and 1893; Anton Bruckner , who composed nine symphonies during 1865 - 1896 that especially recall Beethoven in their grandiose structures, [30] ; and Antonin Dvořák , who composed nine symphonies between 1865 and 1893 that reflect the influence of Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms.

A variation on the “program symphony” was the “symphonic poem” or “tone poem”, a symphonic work not specifically classified as a symphony; the most famous composer of tone poems, which are typically in one movement, is probably Richard Strauss (e.g., Thus spake Zarathustra), whose symphonic work has been described as one of the last breaths of the Romantic age. In the expressive symphony pioneered by Beethoven, the dynamic range of the various moods is more dramatically pronounced than in the Classical symphony: the joy is more boisterous, the lyrical more tender, the alarm more strident, the melancholy more depressive. The most prominent twentieth century symphonies would continue in this "dramatic" vein. The twentieth century After Beethoven, there was a line of thought that argued that the genre of the symphony had reached a sort of end with Beethoven.

For example, the Grove Dictionary of Music of 1889 wrote, "it might seem almost superfluous to trace the history of Symphony further after Beethoven.” In the same vein, Richard Wagner in his essay Opera and Drama (1852) alluded to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as “the very last work of its kind”. [31] Obviously, however, the genre of the symphony persisted throughout the nineteenth century, and still remained a prominent subject in the twentieth. The genre of the symphony was largely an Austro-German phenomenon for most of its history (Berlioz, for example, was one of the very few Frenchmen composing symphonies in the nineteenth century). The “great symphonic tradition” as it were was passed primarily to the Russians of the twentieth century (of whom Dmitri Shostakovich is the most highly regarded). However, in the twentieth century, the symphony, for the first time, became a major worldwide phenomenon, with composers across the globe trying their hand at the genre which some nineteenth century commentators had called "dead" or "defunct".

Although some major orchestral composers of the twentieth century (such as Claude Debussy and Béla Bartók) never wrote a single symphony, there were many composers, in Europe and Russia as well as in Great Britain and America, who kept the idea of the symphony alive. Some of the most prominent composers who can be described as following in the tradition and spirit of the European symphony include: [32] Alfred Schnittke (Russia), eight symphonies, 1972-1994 A full list of twentieth century composers of symphonies would consist of hundreds of names; yet no new symphony after Beethoven has gained the stature that his Ninth has, though almost two hundred years have now passed since it was written. In the twentieth century (and beyond), the overall structure of the symphony remained as flexible as it had ever been. Symphonies, although generally structured in four movements, can, in fact, be structured according to the wishes of the composer. For example, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony is in five movements, Mahler’s Eighth is in two movements, Shostakovich’s Fourteenth is in eleven movements, and Schnittke’s Fourth is structured as one movement.

Symphonies can start or end fast or slow, and can consist, if the composer wishes, of all fast movements or all slow movements. The average performance time for a nineteenth and twentieth century symphony is around 35 to 40 minutes, but many symphonies (including all of Mahler's and many of Shostakovich’s) take over 50 minutes to perform. Some twentieth century symphonies hark back to the "program symphony" (e.g., Vaughan Williams's Sinfonia Antarctica), while others recall the manner of Haydn (e.g. Stravinsky's Symphony in C); some were written for children (Prokofiev’s Seventh Symphony) [33] , while others are more dark and troubled and "internal" than ever before, often representative of the disjointed, moment-by-moment shifting states of mind of the composer. At the end of the third movement of his Symphony No. 10, Shostakovich goes so far as to encode his initials in the melody (the sequence D, E-flat, C, B, in German notation, is represented as D, S, C, H).

The slow movement of a symphony (specifically, the adagio) achieved new depths of gloom and mournfulness in the twentieth century, such as in Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15 and Schnittke’s Symphony No. 6. Just as music scholar Gerald Abraham refers to a European symphonic “line” from Schubert to Mahler [34] , so Alexander Ivashkin, world renowned cellist and music scholar, has written: “With Schnittke’s music we are possibly standing at the end of the great symphonic route from Mahler to Shostakovich.” [35] Naming of symphonies A symphony is generally referred to simply by its number, as “Symphony No. –”, but some symphonies have also been given names or subtitles by their composers, or nicknames by others, such as Haydn’s Symphony No. 94, the Surprise Symphony; Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, Jupiter; Schumann’s Third, Rheinische Symphonie; Mahler’s Second, Resurrection; Dvořák’s Ninth, From the New World; Shostakovich’s Seventh, Leningrad; and Schnittke’s Second, St.

Florian. The name doesn’t take the place of the primary designation, i.e. “Symphony No. – ”, but stands alongside it. Some symphonies have only names, as with Liszt's Faust and Dante Symphonies, or Beethoven's Battle Symphony, which stands apart from his numbered ones. The music of symphonies has entered popular culture, in everything from film scores to adaptations such as the disco hit A Fifth of Beethoven. As such, the public tends to remember a subtitle or nickname better than the formal title. Schubert's aforementioned Eighth Symphony is generally referred to as the Unfinished Symphony, while the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is known by English speakers as the Ode to Joy, after the Goethe text which features in it. Notes Program Notes | Symphony Silicon Valley Russian Sailor's Dance from The Red Poppy ballet Thanks to these dozen short variations on a Russian folksong, the Kiev-born, Belgian-descended Gli�re is known in America as little more than a one-hit wonder. And, colorful though the variations are, all he has done here is to orchestrate the traditional dance-song of the Russian sailors, Yablochko (Apple).

In Russia, however, Gli�re is the well-known composer of concertos�including one for harp and another for wordless coloratura soprano� symphonies�especially his programmatic third symphony, depicting the exploits of the mythic hero Il'ya Murometz�operas, chamber music, programmatic overtures and symphonic poems, and ballets, including the nearly two-hour long Red Poppy, The Bronze Horseman and Taras Bulba. After its premiere in 1927, The Red Poppy was acclaimed as the first "Soviet ballet." Its scenario, by Mikhail Kurilko, extols a "social realism" theme, with a setting in a 1920s Chinese port city where the harbormaster's cruel abuse of the "coolies" arouses sympathy in the visiting Russian ship captain. The poppy symbolizes love and freedom from tyrannical exploitation of the working class.

Born halfway between Glazunov (1865) and Stravinsky (1882), Gli�re showed a discerning interest in the music of different ethnic cultures within the vast Soviet sphere, filtered through a late 19th century compositional vocabulary. The Red Poppy flirts romantically with Chinese pentatonic scales, offering a rich tapestry of local flavors and colors. Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Opus 18 Moderato; Allegro Allegro scherzando The failure of Rachmaninoff's brashly original First Symphony, conducted in 1897 by an apparently drunk Alexander Glazunov, torpedoed the young composer's confidence. (He never again heard it performed, and only recalled it once, wistfully and briefly, in his Symphonic Dances, written 45 years later, shortly before his death.) In the wake of the First Symphony fiasco, and despite other opportunities that opened up for him, Rachmaninoff lapsed into depression and apathy.

He was finally persuaded to seek the counsel of hypnotherapist and amateur musician, Nikolai Dahl, whose ministrations paid off in a few months when Rachmaninoff began work on the C Minor concerto. The 1900 premiere, without the first movement, and the premiere of the complete work the following year, brought Rachmaninoff great success, restored confidence and fluency to his composing and established his distinctively expressive voice for good. Like Gli�re, Rachmaninoff remained firmly planted in the classico-romantic tradition, favoring full-flowering melodies, refreshingly syncopated rhythms and classical forms, but rejecting the sustained chromatic harmonies and aggressive, driving rhythms of compatriots Scriabin, Prokofiev and Stravinsky. The first movement of the C Minor concerto was composed last.

Its sonata form is introduced by tolling bells that recall the Coronation Scene from Mussorgsky's trail- blazing Boris Godunov (an effect so potent that it finds echoes in virtually every Russian composer to follow.) The dark first theme on the strings, with the piano in an accompanying role, makes its way to an improvisational keyboard flourish that leads to the haunting second theme in E-flat on the piano (which would later be appropriated for an American popular song). Another keyboard flourish launches a development on both first and second themes that rises to a great climax. The recapitulation reverses the originally assigned roles of piano and orchestra, with the solo horn reprising the second theme. In true classical tradition, the work begins in a minor key, builds much of its energy in the major and, at last, moves back into the minor for a climactic final flourish. After a brief modulation from C Minor to E, another of the composer's signature melodies (also appropriated for a pop song) opens the second movement, again with the piano accompanying the orchestra, then with roles reversed.

Here, as in many other works, Rachmaninoff displays his mastery of 'endless melody' by ending phrases in suspense, like a novelist�in recent years Michael Crichton and Dan Brown come to mind�who concludes each chapter with such urgent anticipation of what happens next that the reader cannot put the book down. Restless ruminations on the theme surge toward a climax that precipitates a boisterous, then reflective, solo cadenza. Once again the piano returns to its role of accompanist to the orchestra, until a final solo closes the movement. After martial orchestral gestures and a glittering display of pianism that combine to open the finale, beginning in E but quickly moving to C Minor, another broad melody appears (it too stolen for an American popular song.) Traded between the orchestra and the piano, it arrives at a restless passage with soft orchestral strokes over an uneasy pedal point and then abruptly charges back into the movement's opening episode and more keyboard fireworks. The ensuing development flirts with contrapuntal imitation on its way to the next big climax at the halfway mark. Once again the broad melodic theme flowers on the orchestra, then the piano, and soon a repeat of the unresolved pedal point.

Now returns the development material and the ultimate rush to a thundering, virtuosic final climax that recalls the big tune, punctuated at the end by the composer's name sounded out in four emphatic chords. Symphony No. 5 in B flat, Opus 100 Andante Sincerity in Music: Sergei Prokofiev's Classical Symphony Part 1 I will be speaking tonight on a piece of music I love, the Classical Symphony of Sergei Prokofiev. This symphony has thrilled people deeply and often since its premiere in 1918 in St. Petersburg, Russia. I think the thrill this music makes for is genuine. I learned from Aesthetic Realism that every time we hear music we have a judgement about its sincerity. Even if our judgement is unconscious, or hard to articulate, it is there. Instinctively people have felt that sincerity has to be present in art, and all good music criticism, from the beginning, has agreed. So how can we be sure, how do we know the sounds we are hearing are honest? Eli Siegel taught that sincerity has a structure. He said, opposites, notably power and grace, are one whenever expression is sincere.

The meaning of this for music and for life is very large. For the first time sincerity can be studied because its basis has been seen. There is a trend in modern music, which Prokofiev's Classical Symphony helped to begin, called neoclassicism. When a composer is neoclassic the styles of the past become the material for new composition. In 1917 Prokofiev felt impelled to write a symphony in the style of the eighteenth century, the era of Haydn and Mozart. The eighteenth century had its own distinctive way of showing the opposites of power and grace, and it is this way which Prokofiev both employs and alters. Listen now to a section of one of the greatest of classical symphonies, Haydn's Symphony # 101 , subtitled 'The Clock". There is a sort of elegant scampering combined with sudden and proper loudness that just seems to announce: I am a oneness of power and grace!

Fritz Reiner is conducting: [Ex 1: lst movement--from Presto to bar 57 with fade from bar 50.] The job facing Prokofiev when he decided to write a neo-classical symphony was how to remain true to the beautiful relation of power and grace that he loved in the classical style, while at the same time changing that relation in such a way that he could feel expressed himself. It is quite a job, and the pitfalls of insincerity are definitely there. A composer, could, for instance tamper so with the style he is employing as to mock it. But also, he could follow that style so mechanically that he never really shows himself through it. The glory of the Classical Symphony is this: not only were the pitfalls avoided, but Prokofiev found a way to be so fair to the past, and so fair to his own feelings at once, that the result is breathtaking. The symphony begins assertively, with the whole orchestra swelling in a rising arpeggio. Immediately after this we hear the main theme of the first movement.

Two elements: the robust swelling of the whole orchestra, and the quick, graceful figurations of the strings occur so close to each other as to join in our minds is one impression. From the outset power and grace are together. That swelling, though it is assertive, is also rounded. And the main theme, though elegant, is also vigorous. Listen now as the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Abbado, performs the opening of the Classical Symphony : [Ex 2: Opening to rehearsal letter A] Did you hear that jolt half-way through? That was Prokofiev's way of honoring what we noticed earlier in Haydn: sudden, proper loudness. Prokofiev is busy with the opposites. This music has heaviness and lightness, abruptness and continuity, the charming and the rude. These are all aspects of power and grace. How does this comment on sincerity? According to Aesthetic Realism: "Every person is always trying to put together opposites in himself." That is our deepest job. It takes in our whole self. For instance, we want to be charming, but we also want to be deep. We want energy, but we also want ease.

To be sincere would be to have these work for the same purpose. Not everyone who has heard the Classical Symphony has thought it sincere. For example, in his 1946 book, Music in Our Time , Adolfo Salazar called it "pallid neoclassicism." And there are reports that at its 1918 premiere many found it hard to understand how it could honestly be by the same avant-garde Prokofiev who just three years earlier had written this as the opening of his Scythian Suite: [Ex 3: from the repeat to 10 bars after the repeat sign.] Hearing this, and remembering how the Classical Symphony opens, there is, without doubt, a question. Why did a controversial young modernist, (Prokofiev was 26 when he wrote the Classical Symphony ,) write a work reminding us of Haydn? Why did a young Russian, on the eve of the Bolshevik revolution, write a work whose intent, in the words of program notes he authorized, was "to resurrect the good old days"? It does seem baffling. I think through this music Prokofiev was trying honestly to see what his relation to the past was.

In his Autobiography he writes: It seemed to me that had Haydn lived to our day he would have retained his own style, while accepting something of the new at the same time. That was the kind of symphony I wanted to write. I think this shows that Prokofiev's thoughts about the past were kind, not clever. Still, his music is critical. He makes the sounds fall differently. This music is sincere. It tries to make sense of the desires we all have: both to revere and to mock. That is a job, I have learned from Aesthetic Realism, everyone needs to do well. The best place to see Prokofiev's success at this is in the second theme of the first movement. At first we think we are hearing a perfectly elegant eighteenth century theme--something, say, that had it been written in l780 might have gone like this: [EG piano example] Symphony | Article about Symphony by The Free Dictionary Symphony | Article about Symphony by The Free Dictionary [Gr.,=sounding together], a sonata sonata , in music, type of instrumental composition that arose in Italy in the 17th cent.

At first the term merely distinguished an instrumental piece from a piece with voice, which was called a cantata. ..... Click the link for more information. for orchestra. The Italian operatic overture, called sinfonia, was standardized by Alessandro Scarlatti Scarlatti, Alessandro , 1660–1725, Italian composer. He may have studied with Carissimi in Rome, where his first opera was produced in 1679. In 1684 he went to Naples as master of the royal chapel and there composed operas for the royal palace and chamber music for the ..... Click the link for more information. at the end of the 17th cent. into three sections, the first and last being fast and the middle one slower in tempo. Since these sinfonie had little musical connection with the operas they preceded, they could be played alone in concert. It became customary in the early 18th cent. to write independent orchestral pieces in the same style, which were the first real symphonies. G. B. Sammartini Sammartini, Giovanni Battista , c.1701–75, Italian composer.

Sammartini lived most of his life in Milan. He was influential in the development of the Classical style of Haydn and others. ..... Click the link for more information. wrote a number of works that influenced and partially defined symphonic form and style. Johann Stamitz Stamitz, Johann , 1717–57, Bohemian-German composer. Stamitz came to Mannheim (1741) and became (1745) concertmaster of the Mannheim orchestra. He made it the best in Europe. ..... Click the link for more information. , who was leader of the Mannheim group of composers, was one of the first to add a second lyrical theme in the first movement and to expand the symphony's three movements to four. Other important contributions to the development of the symphony were made by C. P. E. Bach Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel , 1714–88, German composer; second son of J. S. Bach, his only teacher.

While harpsichordist at the court of Frederick the Great, where his chief duty for 28 years (1738–67) was to accompany the monarch's performances on the flute, he wrote ..... Click the link for more information. , Johann Christian Bach Bach, Johann Christian , 1735–82, German musician and composer; son of J. S. Bach. He went to Italy in 1754, became a Roman Catholic, and composed church music and operas. In 1760 he became organist of the Milan Cathedral. ..... Click the link for more information. , C. H. Graun Graun, Carl Heinrich , 1704–59, German composer, best known for his oratorio Der Tod Jesu (1755), for many years performed annually in Germany. As musical director to Frederick the Great, who wrote the libretto of Graun's Montezuma ..... Click the link for more information. , and F. J. Gossec Gossec, François Joseph , 1734–1829, Belgian composer; pupil of Rameau.

In 1784 he organized the École Royale de Chant and taught (1795–1816) composition at its successor school, the Paris Conservatory. ..... Click the link for more information. . It was Haydn Haydn, Franz Joseph , 1732–1809, Austrian composer, one of the greatest masters of classical music. As a boy he sang in the choir at St. Stephen's, Vienna, where he received his principal musical training. ..... Click the link for more information. and Mozart Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus , 1756–91, Austrian composer, b. Salzburg. Mozart represents one of the great peaks in the history of music. His works, written in almost every conceivable genre, combine luminous beauty of sound with classical grace and technical perfection. ..... Click the link for more information. , however, who synthesized the techniques of all preceding schools into the Viennese classical symphony.

This composition consisted of four movements—the first, a fast sonata-form movement; the second, a slow movement; the third, a dance, usually a minuet; and the fourth, a fast finale, usually a rondo and frequently a combination of sonata form and rondo. Beethoven Beethoven, Ludwig van , 1770–1827, German composer. He is universally recognized as one of the greatest composers of the Western European music tradition. Beethoven's work crowned the classical period and also effectively initiated the romantic era in music. ..... Click the link for more information. expanded the dimensions of this form and intensified the element of personal expression far beyond the styles of Haydn and Mozart. He also initiated the use of a chorus in the symphony. After Beethoven the classical ideal was continued in the symphonies of Schubert Schubert, Franz Peter , 1797–1828, Austrian composer, one of the most gifted musicians of the 19th cent. His symphonic works represent the best legacy of the classical tradition, while his songs exemplify the height of romantic lyricism. ..... Click the link for more information.

, Mendelssohn Mendelssohn, Felix (Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn) , 1809–47, German composer; grandson of the Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn was one of the major figures in 19th-century music. ..... Click the link for more information. , and Schumann Schumann, Robert Alexander , 1810–56, German composer. Both as a composer and as a highly articulate music critic he was a leader of the romantic movement. He studied theory with Heinrich Dorn and piano with Friedrich Wieck, whose daughter Clara he married. ..... Click the link for more information. , although the classical elements are often overshadowed by romantic traits—repetition in place of actual thematic development, profusion of themes rather than severely limited thematic material, and concern for mood and atmosphere in orchestral color and tone painting. Mainly through the device of thematic transformation, Berlioz Berlioz, Louis-Hector , 1803–69, French romantic composer. He abandoned medical study to enter the Paris Conservatory as a composition student.

In 1830 his Symphonie fantastique was first performed in Paris, marking a bold new development in program music. ..... Click the link for more information. adapted the symphonic style and form to program music program music Instrumental music of the 19th and 20th cent. that endeavors to arouse mental pictures or ideas in the thoughts of the listener—to tell a story, depict a scene, or impel a mood. ..... Click the link for more information. in his Symphonie fantastique, a procedure that was transformed by Liszt Liszt, Franz , 1811–86, Hungarian composer and pianist. Liszt was a revolutionary figure of romantic music and was acknowledged as the greatest pianist of his time. He made his debut at nine, going thereafter to Vienna to study with Czerny and Salieri. ..... Click the link for more information. into the symphonic poem symphonic poem, type of orchestral composition created by Liszt, also called tone poem. Discarding classical principles of form, it begins with a poetic or other literary inspiration. ..... Click the link for more information.

and brought to its height by Richard Strauss Strauss, Richard , 1864–1949, German composer. Strauss brought to a culmination the development of the 19th-century symphonic poem, and was a leading composer of romantic opera in the early 20th cent. ..... Click the link for more information. . Reacting strongly to the romantic orchestral style, Brahms Brahms, Johannes , 1833–97, German composer, b. Hamburg. Brahms ranks among the greatest masters of the romantic period. The son of a musician, he early showed astonishing talent in many directions; he chose as a boy to become a pianist. ..... Click the link for more information. revived the classical model as defined by Beethoven. Although his harmony, melodic formulas, and use of orchestral color are romantic, Brahms's formal designs and developmental procedures carry on and elaborate on the classical style.

Bruckner combined classical formal outlines with the chromatic harmonies and extended melodic structures of the Wagnerian style, and his symphonies influenced those of Mahler Mahler, Gustav , 1860–1911, composer and conductor, born in Austrian Bohemia of Jewish parentage. Mahler studied at the Univ. of Vienna and the Vienna Conservatory. ..... Click the link for more information. in their huge orchestral dimensions. Other important romantic symphonists were Dvořák Dvořák, Antonín , 1841–1904, Czech composer. He studied at the Organ School, Prague (1857–59) and played viola in the National Theater Orchestra (1861–71) under Smetana. ..... Click the link for more information. and Tchaikovsky Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich , 1840–93, Russian composer, b. Kamsko-Votkinsk. Variant transliterations of his name include Tschaikovsky and Chaikovsky. He is a towering figure in Russian music and one of the most popular composers in history. ..... Click the link for more information.

in the 19th cent. and Sibelius Sibelius, Jean Julius Christian , 1865–1957, Finnish composer. Sibelius was a highly personal, romantic composer, yet at the same time he represents the culmination of nationalism in Finnish music. He studied in Berlin (1889) and with Karl Goldmark in Vienna (1890). ..... Click the link for more information. in the 20th cent. The symphony has been treated with unprecedented freedom by contemporary composers, as illustrated by Stravinsky Stravinsky, Igor Fedorovich , 1882–1971, Russian-American composer. Considered by many the greatest and most versatile composer of the 20th cent., Stravinsky helped to revolutionize modern music. Stravinsky's father, an actor and singer in St. ..... Click the link for more information. 's Symphony of Psalms, Bloch Bloch, Ernest , 1880–1959, Swiss-American composer. Among his teachers were Jaques-Dalcroze and Ysaÿe.

He taught at the Geneva Conservatory, 1911–15, and at the Mannes School, New York, 1917–19; he was director of the Cleveland Institute of Music, ..... Click the link for more information. 's Israel, which includes voices, Webern Webern, Anton von , 1883–1945, Austrian composer and conductor; pupil of Arnold Schoenberg. He conducted theater orchestras in Prague and in various German cities until 1918, devoting himself thereafter to composition and teaching. ..... Click the link for more information. 's Symphony for nine solo instruments, Hindemith Hindemith, Paul , 1895–1963, German-American composer and violist, b. Hanau, Germany. Hindemith combined experimental and traditional techniques into a distinctively modern style. After studying at the Frankfurt Conservatory, he began his career as a viola player. ..... Click the link for more information. 's Symphony for Concert Band, and Roy Harris Harris, Roy, 1898–1979, American composer, b. Lincoln co., Okla.

Harris was a pupil of Arthur Farwell and Nadia Boulanger. He began to compose c.1925, ultimately producing more than 200 works. ..... Click the link for more information. 's Folksong Symphony and Symphony for Voices. Other important American symphonists are Aaron Copland Copland, Aaron , 1900–1990, American composer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Copland was a pupil of Rubin Goldmark and of Nadia Boulanger, who introduced his work to the United States when she conducted his Symphony for Organ and Orchestra in 1925. ..... Click the link for more information. , Virgil Thomson Thomson, Virgil, 1896–1989, American composer, critic, and organist, b. Kansas City, Mo. Thomson studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. Until about 1926 he wrote in a dissonant, neoclassic style, but after his 16-minute quintet Sonata da chiesa ..... Click the link for more information.

, Walter Piston Piston, Walter, 1894–1976, American composer and teacher, b. Rockland, Maine. Piston studied at Harvard and with Nadia Boulanger in Paris; he joined the faculty of Harvard in 1926. He became a Guggenheim Fellow in 1934. ..... Click the link for more information. , Roger Sessions Sessions, Roger, 1896–1985, American composer and teacher, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Sessions was a pupil of Horatio Parker at Yale and of Ernest Bloch. He taught (1917–21) at Smith, leaving to teach at the Cleveland Institute of Music as Bloch's assistant. ..... Click the link for more information. , Henry Cowell Cowell, Henry Dixon , 1897–1965, American composer and pianist, b. Menlo Park, Calif., largely self-educated, studied musicology in Berlin (1931–32). Cowell experimented with new musical resources; in his piano compositions he introduced the tone cluster, played with ..... Click the link for more information.

, Randall Thompson, and Howard Hanson Hanson, Howard, 1896–1981, American composer, teacher, and conductor, b. Wahoo, Nebr. In 1921, Hanson won the Prix de Rome, becoming the first composer to enter the American Academy there. From 1924–64 he was director of the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, N.Y. ..... Click the link for more information. . Bibliography See R. Simpson, ed., The Symphony (2 vol., 1972); D. F. Tovey, Essays in Musical Analysis: Symphonies (1935, repr. 1972); R. Nadeau, The Symphony (rev. ed. 1974); H. Chappell, Sounds Magnificent (1986). Symphony a musical work in sonata form, intended for performance by a symphony orchestra; one of the most important genres of symphonic music. Some symphonies include parts for chorus or for vocal soloists. Symphonies have also been written for string orchestras, brass bands, folk-instrument orchestras, and other ensembles.

A symphony usually consists of four movements: the first, in the form of a sonata allegro; the second, slow and lyrical; the third, a minuet or scherzo; and the fourth, a finale, frequently in rondo form, with dance or song themes. The symphony is the highest form of instrumental music, surpassing all other forms in its potential for embodying significant ideas and intentions. The term “symphony” did not acquire its present meaning until the 18th century. In ancient Greece the word symphonia meant certain intervals or instruments. In Western Europe the term “symphony” referred to consonance, music in general, or singing. During the 16th century the term was applied to individual works, initially vocal and instrumental ones. The Sacrae symphoniae of G. Gabrieli (Italy, 16th and early 17th centuries), H. L. Hassler, and H. Schütz (Germany, 17th century) were major vocal and instrumental religious compositions. After the early 17th century, instrumental preludes—parts of suites, cantatas, and especially operas—were usually called symphonies.

Of importance in the development of the classical symphony were orchestral preludes to operas (overtures), particularly the Venetian and, to an even greater degree, the Neapolitan sinfonias (A. Scarlatti, N. Porpora, G. Pergolesi, and G. B. Sammartini, for example). Fast and slow movements were contrasted (fast—slow—fast) and features of the sonata form emerged in these works. During the 18th century the symphony became a concert genre independent of the opera and assimilated elements of many other genres. For a long time the symphony was similar to the divertimento and the orchestral serenade. An important phase in the development of the symphony is associated with the Mannheim school. Italian, Austrian, and French composers also contributed to the development of the symphony. During the mid-18th century the minuet became one of the standard movements of the symphony. The symphony achieved maturity with the works of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, representatives of the Viennese classical school.

The creative work of Haydn, the composer of 104 symphonies, encompasses a broad range, from symphonies similar to the suite and the divertimento to the 12 London symphonies (1791–95), which are distinguished for their completely defined cyclic structure and individual movements, their emphasis on thematic development, the increasing importance of the finale, and unity of conceptualization. Written before Haydn’s London symphonies, Mozart’s last and most significant symphonies (approximately 50) include the lyrical Symphony in G minor and the majestic Symphony in C major (the “Jupiter”). The symphonic form was enriched by Beethoven, in whose compositions heroic spirit, dramatism, and a philosophical foundation became very important. In most of his symphonies Beethoven used the scherzo instead of the minuet. His most outstanding symphonies are the third (the “Eroica”), the fifth, the sixth (the “Pastoral”), the seventh, and the ninth, which calls for four vocal soloists and a chorus. The romantic composers preserved the traditional cyclic pattern of the symphony but changed its content.

A brilliant example of the lyrical symphony, an important romantic genre, is the Symphony in B minor by F. Schubert, who composed eight symphonies. This line of development was continued in Mendelssohn’s five symphonies, which often represent musical depictions of scenes. Thus, symphonies acquired the programmatic features typical of romantic compositions. Among the romantics’ programmatic works are the brilliantly innovative Symphonie fantastique by Berlioz, who composed four symphonies, and Liszt’s Faust Symphony and Symphony to Dante’s “Divina Commedia,” which were written later. However, during the romantic period programmatic ideas were most frequently embodied in one-movement forms such as the symphonic poem and the fantasia. R. Schumann’s four symphonies are in the tradition of Beethoven’s symphonies, as well as Schubert’s lyrical epic Symphony in C major. The last of Saint-Saëns’ three symphonies, as well as Franck’s Symphony in D minor, reflect Wagner’s influence. The most outstanding symphonic composer of the late 19th century and early 20th centuries was G.

Mahler, who completed nine symphonies, some of which include vocal parts. In the West major symphonies were composed by representatives of the new national schools, including the late-19th-century composer A. Dvorak (Bohemia) and the 20th-century composers K. Szymanowski (Poland), E. Elgar and R. Vaughan Williams (Great Britain), and J. Sibelius (Finland). The French composers A. Honegger and D. Milhaud wrote symphonies distinguished for their innovativeness. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries the full-scale symphony prevailed, and many works were written for expanded orchestra. Later, the chamber symphony, modest in scope and intended for an ensemble of soloists, gained importance. The symphony was an important genre in Russian music. The most outstanding Russian symphonies were written by A. P.

Borodin (two finished symphonies, the second of which is known as the “Bogatyrs’ “), Tchaikovsky (six symphonies, including the “Pathetique” and the “Manfred” Symphony, a programmatic work), A. K. Glazunov (eight finished symphonies), A. N. Scriabin (three), and Rachmaninoff (three). The symphony has also been favored by Soviet composers, who have written many outstanding works in the genre. Among the Soviet symphonists are N. Ia. Miaskovskii (27 symphonies), S. S. Prokofiev (seven), D. D. Shostakovich (15), an A. I. Kha-chaturian (three). Major symphonies have been written by composers from the Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Estonia, and other Soviet republics. REFERENCES 4. short for symphony orchestra 5. in musical theory, esp of classical Greece a. another word for consonance Compare diaphony b.

the interval of unison Symphony (tool, product) Lotus Development's successor to their Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. Unlike 1-2-3, Symphony allowed a limited form of multitasking . The user could switch manually between it and MS-DOS and separate graph and spreadsheet windows could be opened simultaneously and would be updated automatically when cells were changed. In addition, a small word processor could be opened in a third window. These all could be printed out on the same report. Symphony could read and write Lotus 1-2-3 files and had interactive graphical output and a word processor, thus making it effectively a report generator. Unlike 1-2-3, Symphony was not a great commercial success. Symphony (1) See SymphonyOS and Lotus Symphony . (2) One of the first integrated software packages for the PC running under the DOS operating system. Developed by Lotus, it included word processing, database, spreadsheet, business graphics, communications and a macro language. It was similar in purpose to the Lotus Symphony office suite introduced decades later (see Lotus Symphony ).

(3) An earlier wireless LAN family from Proxim, Inc., San Jose, CA ( that transmitted 1.6 Mbps in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz band. Symphony was geared for the home and small office and covered an indoor range up to 150 feet and 10 computers. Symphony supported laptops fitted with Proxim's RangeLAN2 cards, but did not support roaming. See RangeLAN and wireless LAN . Sergei Prokofiev - Symphony No. 1 in D major "Classical", Op. 25 - YouTube Sergei Prokofiev - Symphony No. 1 in D major "Classical", Op. 25 Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Sep 14, 2011 Sergei Prokofiev began work on his Symphony No. 1 in D major (Op. 25) in 1916, but wrote most of it in 1917, finishing work on September 10.

It is written in loose imitation of the style of Haydn (and to a lesser extent, Mozart), and is widely known as the Classical Symphony, a name given to it by the composer. It premiered on April 21, 1918 in Petrograd, conducted by Prokofiev himself, and has become one of his most popular and beloved works. The symphony can be considered to be one of the first neoclassical compositions. However, although it was composed in an attempt to emulate the style of Joseph Haydn, it does not do so strictly, and strongly reflects modern compositional practices and Prokofiev's own voice. The work was partly inspired by his conducting studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory‎, where the instructor, Nikolai Tcherepnin, taught his students about conducting Haydn, among other composers. The symphony is in four movements:

Question: Whose first symphony of 1917 is known as "The Classical Symphony"?
Answer: Sergei Prokofiev