Classical Symphony Research Paper

A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often written by composers for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning common today: a work usually consisting of multiple distinct sections or movements, often four, with the first movement in sonata form. Symphonies are scored for string (violin, viola, cello and double bass), brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments which all together number about 30-100 musicians. Symphonies are notated in a musical score, which contains all the instrument parts. Orchestral musicians play from parts which contain just the notated music for their instrument. A small number of symphonies also contain vocal parts. …show more content…
The opera sinfonia, or Italian overture had, by the 18th century, a standard structure of three contrasting movements: fast, slow, fast and dance-like. It is this form that is often considered as the direct forerunner of the orchestral symphony. The terms “overture”, “symphony” and “sinfonia” were widely regarded as interchangeable for much of the 18th century. From around 1830 onwards composers started to shape up instrumental works around this pattern with each part developing as a movement in its own right. Composers such as Stamitz and two of J.S. Bach’s sons, C.P.E. Bach and J.C. Bach, were really important in establishing the style, but it was the two great composers of the Classical period, Mozart and Haydn, who completed this development and add a further movement, a minuet and trio, before the final fast