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Line 4: − + + + + + + + − + − *Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, with the choral "Ode to Joy" in the fourth movement. This piece was performed by Leonard Bernstein to celebrate the fall of the Berlin wall.+ − *Mozart's Symphony No. 40+ + +
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*has a detectable structure to it; it is not simply a long medley of tunes. The pattern of key changes and recurring themes are often described as taking the listener on a musical journey.
*has a detectable structure to it; it is not simply a long medley of tunes. The pattern of key changes and recurring themes are often described as taking the listener on a musical journey.
*is usually "absolute music," without a specific story line to it (unlike "program music," such as Rimsky-Korsakov's ''Scheherazade'' or Smetana's ''Ma Vlast'')
*is usually "absolute music," without a specific story line to it (unlike "program music," such as Rimsky-Korsakov's ''Scheherazade'' or Smetana's ''Ma Vlast'')
*is usually in four separate parts, called ''movements,'' with the first movement following a pattern called "Sonata-allegro form."
*is usually in four separate parts, called ''movements,'' with the first movement following a pattern called "[[Sonata form|Sonata-allegro form]]." In 18th century symphonies, the second movement was the slow movement, followed by a minuet and trio (or scherzo and trio) in ternary form, and then a fast final movement, in either sonata form or rondo form.
These characterizations are not absolute, however, as many composers have experimented with the format of the symphony:
*Beethoven added programmatic features to his Sixth Symphony (as well as an extra movement), and a chorus to the finale of his Ninth
*Berlioz greatly expanded the size of the orchestra for his "Symphonie Fantastique", and used a programmatic structure
*Composers such as Mahler, Schoenberg, and Richard Strauss experimented with the number of movements and their size and scope
Some famous, familiar, and easily appreciated symphonies include:
Some famous, familiar, and easily appreciated symphonies include:
*Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World," with themes that have the flavor of black spirituals to them.<ref>Dvořák was not a musicologist, and, oddly, believed that "Negro" and "Indian" music were similar. He himself regarded the music as Indian-themed, with connections to ''The Song of Hiawatha.''</ref>
*[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart's]] Symphony No. 40 in G minor, his penultimate symphony, and one of only two of his symphonies written in a minor key (the other, Symphony No. 25, was also in G minor)
*[[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven's]] Symphony No. 9, with the choral "Ode to Joy" in the fourth movement. This piece was performed by Leonard Bernstein to celebrate the fall of the Berlin wall.
*[[Antonin Dvořák|Dvořák's]] Symphony No. 9, "From the New World," with themes that have the flavor of black spirituals to them.<ref>Dvořák was not a musicologist, and, oddly, believed that "Negro" and "Indian" music were similar. He himself regarded the music as Indian-themed, with connections to ''The Song of Hiawatha.''</ref>
Other composers known for their symphonies include [[Franz Joseph Haydn]], [[Franz Schubert]], [[Jean Sibelius]], [[Gustav Mahler]], [[Anton Bruckner]], [[Sergei Prokofiev]], and [[Dmitri Shostakovich]].