Last updated Schubert c.1814, painted by Josef Abel
The Symphony No. 1 in D major, D 82, was composed by Franz Schubert in 1813, when he was just 16 years old. Despite his youth, his first symphony is an impressive piece of orchestral music for both its time and size. The first movement opens with a stately Adagio introduction, reminiscent of Joseph Haydn's 104th symphony in its format. The short Adagio sets off a lively Allegro vivace.
The symphony is scored for 1 flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in D, 2 trumpets in D, timpani and strings. The orchestration, which is balanced between strings and winds, lends itself to small chamber orchestras, as well as larger ensembles. The trumpets are scored particularly high, as in many of Schubert's early works. Trumpet players will find, in general, the tessitura sitting between D4 and A5 (as sounded) for most of the first and fourth movements. In the fourth movement, Schubert pushes them up to a high D6, in a repeated fashion. Some careful planning is needed to balance the multiple doublings between horns and trumpets.
The standard four movement work runs about 31 minutes.
The Symphony No. 94 in G major is the second of the twelve London symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. It is popularly known as the Surprise Symphony.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21, was dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an early patron of the composer. The piece was published in 1801 by Hoffmeister & Kühnel of Leipzig. It is not known exactly when Beethoven finished writing this work, but sketches of the finale were found to be from 1795.
The Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36, is a symphony in four movements written by Ludwig van Beethoven between 1801 and 1802. The work is dedicated to Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky.
The Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88, B. 163, is a symphony by Antonín Dvořák, composed in 1889 at Vysoká u Příbramě, Bohemia, on the occasion of his election to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts. Dvořák conducted the premiere in Prague on 2 February 1890. In contrast to other symphonies of both the composer and the period, the music is cheerful and optimistic. It was originally published as Symphony No. 4.
Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 5 in B♭ major, D. 485, was written mainly in September 1816 and completed on 3 October 1816. It was finished six months after the completion of his previous symphony.
The Symphony No. 9 in C major, D 944, known as The Great, is the final symphony completed by Franz Schubert. It was first published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1849 as "Symphonie / C Dur / für großes Orchester" and listed as Symphony No. 8 in the New Schubert Edition. Originally called The Great C major to distinguish it from his Symphony No. 6, the Little C major, the subtitle is now usually taken as a reference to the symphony's majesty. Unusually long for a symphony of its time, a typical performance of The Great lasts an hour when all repeats indicated in the score are taken. The symphony was not professionally performed until a decade after Schubert's death.
The Symphony No. 5 in D major/D minor, Op. 107, known as the Reformation, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. The Confession is a key document of Lutheranism and its Presentation to Emperor Charles V in June 1530 was a momentous event of the Protestant Reformation. This symphony was written for a full orchestra and was Mendelssohn's second extended symphony. It was not published until 1868, 21 years after the composer's death – hence its numbering as '5'. Although the symphony is not very frequently performed, it is better known today than when it was originally published. Mendelssohn's sister, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, chose the name Reformation Symphony.
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73, was composed by Johannes Brahms in the summer of 1877, during a visit to Pörtschach am Wörthersee, a town in the Austrian province of Carinthia. Its composition was brief in comparison with the 21 years it took Brahms to complete his First Symphony.
The Octet in F major, D. 803 was composed by Franz Schubert in March 1824. It was commissioned by the renowned clarinetist Ferdinand Troyer and came from the same period as two of Schubert's other major chamber works, the 'Rosamunde' and 'Death and the Maiden' string quartets.
The Symphony in C major by German composer Robert Schumann was published in 1847 as his Symphony No. 2, Op. 61, although it was the third symphony he had completed, counting the B-flat major symphony published as No. 1 in 1841, and the original version of his D minor symphony of 1841. It is dedicated to Oscar I, king of Sweden and Norway.
Symphony No. 93 in D major, Hoboken I/93, one of the twelve London symphonies written by Joseph Haydn.
The Symphony No. 98 in B♭ major, Hoboken I/98, is the sixth of the twelve London symphonies composed by Joseph Haydn. It was completed in 1792 as part of the set of symphonies composed on his first trip to London. It was first performed at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on 2 March 1792.
Symphony No. 7 is the name given to a four-movement symphony in E major drafted by Franz Schubert in August 1821. Although the work is structurally complete, Schubert only orchestrated the slow introduction and the first 110 bars of the first movement. The rest of the work is continued on 14-stave score pages as a melodic line with occasional basses or counterpoints, giving clues as to changes in orchestral texture.
Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 3 in D major, D 200, was written between 24 May and 19 July 1815, a few months after his eighteenth birthday. Like the other early symphonies, it was not published during Schubert's lifetime. It appeared many years later, in the first Schubert complete works edition in 1884. It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.
The Symphony No. 3 in E♭ major, Op. 10, B. 34, is a classical composition by Antonín Dvořák.
The Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D 417, is a symphony by Franz Schubert completed in April 1816 when Schubert was 19 years old, a year after his Third Symphony However, it was not premiered until November 19, 1849, in Leipzig, more than two decades after Schubert's death. The symphony was called the Tragic by its composer.
The Symphony No. 6 in C major, D 589, is a symphony by Franz Schubert composed between October 1817 and February 1818. Its first public performance was in Vienna in 1828. It is nicknamed the "Little C major" to distinguish it from his later Ninth Symphony, in the same key, which is known as the "Great C major".
The Symphony No. 2 in B♭ major, D 125, is a symphony by Franz Schubert composed between 1814 and 1815. It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.
Felix Mendelssohn wrote thirteen string symphonies between 1821 and 1823, when he was between 12 and 14 years old.. These symphonies were tributes to classical period symphonies especially by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and others.
Symphony No. 6 by Russian composer Alfred Schnittke was composed in 1992. It was commissioned by cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich and the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, who together gave its first performance in Moscow on 25 September 1993.
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