According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a symphony is a long piece of music that is usually in four large, separate sections and that is performed by an orchestra. Most people nowadays don’t listen to symphonies or composers solo performances in their day-to-day lives, but you still hear them all the time. Think back to the last movie you saw, or television show you watched, I could almost guarantee you that there is a piece of music from a symphony. You probably could only name a few composers off the top of your head, but if I were to play you 20 different symphonies, you would recognize them without having any previous knowledge to whom the composers were.
Symphonies were formed once musicians developed a consistent process of writing down music. Once they were able to do this, composers and musicians began writing longer pieces of music for orchestras to perform. Pieces of work that strictly have the orchestras playing with no singers were given the name of symphony. In 1692, Henry Purcell used the word symphony to describe the type of music in his opera. This was one of the first recorded uses of “symphony”(Development of the Symphony).
The purpose of this page is to teach the population about some of the best composers of their times and how they revolutionized the history of music. You may not know the names of some of these composers, but I can almost guarantee that you will recognize the music! An example is below, you may not recognize the name Tchaikovsky but I am pretty sure you will recognize this song.
Sources:
(n.d.). Retrieved from Merriam Webster Dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/symphony
Development of the Symphony. (n.d.). Retrieved from Classical.com: http://www.classical.com/developmentsymphony
Addy Schaar: Author of Edvard Grieg and Richard Wagner pages
Gabby Purdy: Author of Frederick Chopin page
Marko Tomich: Author of Gustav Mahler page
Ted Villanyi: Author of Johannes Brahms page
Brennan Walker: Author of Symphonies page