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Development of The Symphony

The document summarizes the evolution of the classical symphony. It describes the early classical period which featured simpler textures and forms influenced by composers like Bach. The mature classical period saw the symphony perfected by Haydn, Mozart, and early Beethoven through standardized forms and patterns. Beethoven began expanding the scope and drama of the symphony, seen in works like his Eroica and 5th symphonies. Early Romantic composers like Schubert and Mendelssohn continued developing the form with more adventurous harmony and structure. Later Romantics like Berlioz and Liszt pushed boundaries with programmatic content and expanded orchestrations.

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Andrew Bayley
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172 views2 pages

Development of The Symphony

The document summarizes the evolution of the classical symphony. It describes the early classical period which featured simpler textures and forms influenced by composers like Bach. The mature classical period saw the symphony perfected by Haydn, Mozart, and early Beethoven through standardized forms and patterns. Beethoven began expanding the scope and drama of the symphony, seen in works like his Eroica and 5th symphonies. Early Romantic composers like Schubert and Mendelssohn continued developing the form with more adventurous harmony and structure. Later Romantics like Berlioz and Liszt pushed boundaries with programmatic content and expanded orchestrations.

Uploaded by

Andrew Bayley
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Early Classical

● Galant style (return of simplicity after complexity of Baroque) - originated in France


● Textures and harmony are simpler and more regular
● Style strongly influenced composers such as Johann Stamitz, Bach and Haydn

Mature Classical
● Used to describe the music typical of Haydn, Mozart and early Beethoven
○ Four movement pattern: Movement in sonata form, slower movement, minuet
and a lively finale
○ Relative predictability of well-established patterns allowed composers to play
humourous/dramatic games with the listener
● Haydn’s earliest symphonies tended to be relatively light-hearted showpieces, but he
started to incorporate more complexity and drama into his works as the symphony genre
began to be taken more seriously
● Influences of the literary Sturm und drang movement can be found in certain works of
Haydn, Mozart and others around 1770
○ Music tends to be in stormy minor keys and use syncopated rhythms

Beethoven
● Works of beethoven straddle the mature Classical and Early Romantic periods.
● Starting in early 1800s, Beethoven began to break new ground in several ways: length of
movements, complexity, size of orchestra, increased energy and drama, and a dramatic
narrative style.
○ Symphonies were extremely influential, with composers taking their lead from
different aspects of his works
● One aspect of beethoven symphonies that had a particular impact was:
○ The way he took the classical style (eg simple diatonic themes, clear structures
and emphatic cadences), and made them monumental and dramatic (increased
volume and scale)
■ Seen clearly in third symphony (the Eroica):
● Begins with a simple theme based on arpeggios and turns into a
powerful drama
■ Fifth symphony is similarly monumental, with the composer making the C
major last movement, the culminating triumph of a work that starts in C
minor (violation of expectation??)
■ “Pastoral” programme of sixth symphony with its bubbling stream, storm
and dancing shepherds - inspired and helped justify those who wanted to
bring more concrete drama and story telling into the symphony
■ Ninth was a monumental work (huge chorus finale) - many composers felt
very intimidated by the task of writing symphonies that could match up to
it
Early Romantic
 Up to around 1830
 Schubert and Mendelssohn are early Romantic composers who continued to develop
the symphony, using similar sized orchestra’s to Beethoven and continuing to compose
within the conventional classical forms and styles
 They however, were more adventurous (particularly in harmony and structure)
 Were both masters of writing attractive, lyrical melodies
 Mendelssohn’s symphonies often have an overall program but it tends to be quite vague
(e.g. “Scottish”, “Italian”, “Reformation”)

Later Romantic
 Berlioz, Liszt and later Strauss all pushed the boundaries of the traditional symphony
with much increased programmatic content and development of the orchestra
o In the case of the second two, they largely abandoned the symphony in favour of
the tone poem which offered a freer form within which to unfold their ideas
 Schumann and Brahms, on the other hand, largely developed their ideas within a more
traditional symphonic framework, as did the later Tchaikovsky
 Some later Romantic composers took inspiration from the folk music of their countries,
using dance rhythms and folk-like melodies
o Dvorak’s symphonies and Smetana’s tone poems are good examples
 Bruckner and, slightly later, Mahler, vastly increased the scale and proportion of their
symphonies, with Mahler’s third, for example, weighing in at nearly 1.5 hours, compared
to a bit more then 20 minutes for a typical Mozart or Haydn symphony

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