67: The symphony

Johann Sebastian Bach died in 1750, and in 1759 (the same year Handel died—as mentioned before, because the same surgeon committed the same act of malpractice during the same operation 9 years after it killed Bach), Franz-Josef Haydn wrote his first of 104 symphonies. Five years later, Mozart (then age 8) followed with his first of 41.


At that time, and still to this day, a symphony is a multi-movement (almost always 4) work for a large (the definition of “large” has definitely expanded over time) ensemble, almost always without singers (to differentiate it from something else like an opera, cantata, etc.—until 1824).

Traditionally, the first of these movements is fast and in sonata form, which we discussed a few days ago. The second movement (usually) is slow. The third (usually) is some kind of dance. The fourth (and usually last) movement is (usually) even faster and grander than the first and may be in sonata form or some other form.

The symphony is one of the forms that defines the Classical period, and it signals a shift away from the Church and toward the masses. Rich people—not necessarily connected to the Church—or orchestras/societies/groups would commission a composer to write a symphony (at first usually just for the enjoyment of the rich person and/or their friends and/or their court; as time passes, more and more “for everyone”) to enjoy just because they wanted it, not because there was something important going on on the Church calendar. This was secular music for secular purposes, simply because it was enjoyable.

Many composers began to write either on a freelance basis, or under the patronage of one rich person/family, as opposed to being under employment with the Church, around this period, coinciding with the beginning of the development of the symphony as we know it.

Over time, the size of the ensembles called upon to perform a symphony will undergo an enormous transformation (to the point that modern “symphony orchestras” are usually at least 80, if not 90 or 100, musicians strong; up from 15 or 20 at the very beginning), and we’ve seen a similar lengthening of the work (from 10-15 minutes in the beginning to up to an hour and 40 minutes).

Some of the most famous works ever written are symphonies, and they will most certainly be given individual articles, if not a series of articles, movement by movement.

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