Later Romantic symphony

(The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland in the Usher Hall, Edinburgh. This is a full symphony orchestra of Romantic period size.)

As the nineteenth century progressed most of the major composers wrote symphonies. The orchestra grew in size to include:

•  more woodwind, at least double woodwind instruments and later triple with the inclusion of piccolo on the top and contra bassoon on the bottom (In an orchestra double woodwind implies two instruments per type and triple, three per instrument.)

• a brass section of up to four trumpets, four French horns, three trombones and tuba

•  a larger percussion section using timpani, bass drum and crash cymbals.

Dvorak wrote a number of symphonies, the most well known of which is his Symphony No. 9, ‘From the New World’, inspired by a visit to America and including themes based on folk music from that country. The first movement is in a quite distinct Sonata form. Listen to the introduction and exposition from this movement. In this case the introduction is really rather long, almost two minutes in length and ending with a timpani roll and tremolando strings before the start of the exposition itself. Listen for the three main themes. 

Perhaps the best known is the second, slow movement of this symphony with its main theme based on an old negro spiritual, ‘Goin’ home’. Being a second movement, it is a fairly simple ternary form but with an introduction at the beginning. Listen to the dramatic beginning played by the brass section and then the very distinctive melody of the main theme played on a cor anglais. Sometimes known as ‘Largo’, it is a theme often played in classrooms in junior classes by electric keyboard players.