The origin of symphony

The origin of symphony music can be traced back to a very distant history. Its name originated from ancient Greece and was the general term for the two words "harmony" and "harmony" at that time. By the time of ancient Rome, it evolved into a general term for all instrumental ensembles and ensembles.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, that is, the European Renaissance, the name symphony was used as a symbol of all harmonic, multi-sounding instrumental music. In the early days of Baroque music, it mainly referred to the overtures and interludes in operas, oratorios, oratorios and other works.

In the early 18th century, music art developed rapidly in Europe. With the process of the European industrial revolution, music art also began to gradually become civilian and socialized.

In the mid-18th century, composers of the Mannheim School in Germany further improved the basic form of symphony with a series of positive and innovative creations.

The symphony orchestra was truly formed in the past few hundred years, strictly speaking, during the period when the Vienna classical music school flourished.

Before this, the structure of the symphony orchestra was not perfect, and it was just an incomplete orchestra. For example, in the creations of Haydn and Mozart, the formation and scale of the orchestra are limited to small orchestras with characteristics of chamber music.

The development history of symphony

1. Symphony in the Classical Period

Classical symphony is represented by the three music masters of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Vienna, the capital of Austria, a famous cultural city in Western Europe, is the center, so it is sometimes called the Viennese Classical Music Period. Its time span generally begins in 1755, when Haydn began his musical career in Vienna, and ends in 1827, when Beethoven died.

Classical symphony is based on the achievements of previous European music, combined with new ideas, new concepts and new aesthetic requirements of the new era, and pursues the stability of emotion and rationality at a higher stage, and is rigorous and perfect. The combination of form and profound ideological content focuses on the pursuit of objective beauty, paying attention to the rigorous balance of musical form and the solemn harmony of musical style.

The characteristics of the classical symphony had already been nurtured during the peak period of Baroque music. It was only until Haydn that the structural form of the four movements of the symphony was finally established and a complete symphony orchestra was formed to provide The foundation was laid for the later development of symphonic music.

2. Symphony in the Romantic Period

Romanticism is a new trend of thought in literature and art that emerged in Europe from the French Revolution to the early 19th century. It was first reflected in literature, and then spread to other countries including The entire artistic field including music.

From the 1820s to the end of the 19th century, European romantic music, including romantic symphonies, developed rapidly and swept across Europe. The content and style of romantic music works are inseparable from the era and social trends of thought in which they were written.

The failure of the revolution, the restoration of the feudal dynasty and the high-pressure policies they pursued forced composers to treat the dark reality with a negative attitude. They placed their hope in the future and were immersed in the dream of a better future. .

Therefore, the outstanding feature of romantic symphony is that it attaches great importance to the expression of personal emotions. The composer's creative inspiration comes mostly from the personal emotional world, from various subtle feelings of nature, or with the help of literary works and paintings. , poetry, drama and the inspiration of myths, legends and folk stories, with a distinct and strong emotional color.