Symphonic music is not a specific genre name, but a general term for a genre of instrumental music. The common features of this genre are:

1. Playing by a large orchestra;

2. Music is profound in connotation, dramatic, epic, tragic and heroic, or solemn in style, narrative, descriptive, lyrical and customary.

3. It has a strict structure and rich means of expression.

According to the established practice, symphonic music mainly refers to five genres: symphony, concerto, band suite, overture and symphonic poem. However, its category is often extended to some orchestral music with its own characteristics, such as fantasia, capriccio, rhapsody, narrative, March, variation and dance music played by symphony orchestra. In addition, symphonic music also includes orchestral music with titles, such as China composer Zheng Lu and Ma Hongye's Good News from Beijing to the Border Village.

Second, the origin and development of symphonic music

Roman Roland, a great French writer, said, "There is no concept of progress in art, because no matter how far we look back, we will find that our predecessors have reached a perfect state. It would be ridiculous to think that centuries of efforts have brought us closer to perfection ... "

The origin of symphonic music can be traced back to a very long history. Its name originated from ancient Greece, and it was the general term of "harmony" and "harmony" at that time. In ancient Rome, it evolved into a synonym for all instrumental ensemble and ensemble. In the 15th and 16th centuries, that is, during the Renaissance in Europe, the name symphony was regarded as the symbol of all harmonious and multi-organ music. In the early days of baroque music, it mainly refers to overtures and interludes in operas, dramas and oratorios. In the early 18th century, the music art developed rapidly in Europe. With the process of industrial revolution in Europe, the music art began to gradually become civilian and socialized. During this period, symphony, as an independent art form, gradually gained a clear meaning in its scale and form. The Italian opera overture at that time became the basic prototype of classical symphony with its unique three paragraphs of "fast-slow-fast". By the mid-18th century, the composers of the music school in Mannheim, Germany (the cultural center of southern Germany), with a series of positive and innovative creations, further improved the basic form of symphony. In 174, the Austrian composer Monn (1717-175) added the minuet movement (the third movement) between the adagio movement and the Allegro movement for the first time. This four-movement divertimento form gradually evolved into a fixed form of classical symphony. The four movements are arranged in this way:

The first movement-sonata form (Note: it is a basic form of classical music works, and it must be used as an important movement in sonata, symphony, concerto and ensemble. ) It includes three parts:

The first part: (Presentation part) There are two themes-the main theme (the first theme) and the sub-theme (the second theme), which are often in sharp contrast. For example, the main theme is conflicting and dramatic, and the sub-theme can be lyrical and singing. In some sonatas, these two themes are complementary and both are singing.

the second part: (the unfolding part) is to split and mold the theme of the presentation part continuously, and compare and unfold it in the aspects of orchestration, rhythm, dynamics and tonality.

the third part: (the reproduction part) reproduces the two themes of the presentation part, which are closely related in tonality. For example, in the presentation part, the theme of the main part is the main melody (C major), and the theme of the auxiliary part is the dominant melody (G major), while in the reproduction part, the theme of the auxiliary part should also return to the main melody (C major). Sonata forms usually start with an introduction or prologue and end with an ending. Such a musical form often expresses grand ideas and reflects profound philosophy, and of course it is also very lyrical and descriptive.

the second movement-andante or adagio. Lyrical and good at singing music.

the third movement-minuet. They are light, humorous, elegant and funny.

the fourth movement-the finale. It is usually Allegro, often in Rondo form (A+B+A+C+A) or Rondo Sonata form. (The difference between the so-called Rondo Sonata Form and the Sonata Form is that the theme appears twice in the presentation part, that is, the theme-subtitle-theme, and then the expansion part and the reproduction part)

The fixed form we just talked about was relatively fixed only in the classical symphony period. But there are also special examples. For example, Haydn wrote a symphony with six movements. As for the contrast between fast and slow movements, there will also be changes. He wrote a farewell symphony, which ended with adagio. As for the number of movements, composers also have many changes according to the requirements of different creations. There are three movements and two movements. For example, Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony", which is familiar to everyone, has five movements, and Shostakovich's "Fourteenth Symphony" has as many as eleven movements. Therefore, the composition of symphonies and the contrast between fast and slow movements are not static.

In the middle and late 18th century, the rise of Vienna Classical Music School and the great creation of some talented composers made the symphony art form develop to a comprehensive and mature stage. Here we first mention the Austrian composer Haydn. He composed more than 12 symphonies in his life. His contribution to symphony art is that he established the form and scale of symphony completely and rigorously, so he was once praised as the "father of symphony". His artistic achievements directly influenced his two descendants-Mozart and Beethoven. The form, scale, connotation, etc. of the symphony are really matured and perfected in the creation of the latter two composers.

Mozart wrote 41 symphonies in his life. Compared with Haydn's symphonies, his symphonies have been greatly improved in terms of completeness in form, richness in connotation and profundity in thought. With his ingenious pen, he injected a brand-new vitality into the symphony, an independent form of instrumental music. His last three symphonies-Symphony No.39 in E-flat major, Symphony No.4 in G minor and Symphony No.41 in C major (Jupiter) are the pinnacle of all his symphonies. These three symphonies, which combine the musicality, rich ideological content and novel creativity of genius, have become brilliant models in classical symphony creation.

Beethoven, a genius who was honored as "the sage of music" by later generations, raised the achievements of symphony creation to an unprecedented height in his short decades of creation. In the history of world symphonic music art, his creation is regarded as an extremely important milestone. And his works are outstanding examples that span the connecting link between classicism and romanticism.

Roman-Roland once praised Beethoven as: "the greatest music poet in the French Revolution and Napoleon Empire, and the artist who most vividly described the storms in Napoleon's period;": His description includes people's suffering and sadness; The tension of war and the intoxicated carnival of the spirit of freedom. "

Beethoven's symphonies are more rigorous in form, richer in content and more skillful in techniques than those of Haydn and Mozart. What attracts people's attention is that his symphonies are profound in thought and complex in philosophy. For the first time, he made the symphonies have profound connotations of social enlightenment and struggle. His achievement in symphony creation lies in his great creation based on inheritance. For example, in terms of formal structure, he expanded and improved the organizational framework of the symphony-sonata form. At the same time, more dynamic scherzos (note: also known as scherzos, they are mostly three-beat, lively in rhythm, fast in speed, and often have sudden contrast between strength and weakness) have replaced the overly moderate traditional minuets, thus giving the symphony more organic. From another point of view, in order to achieve the purpose of expressing major social themes and human struggle and spiritual realm, he expanded the compilation of the symphony orchestra to a more reasonable level. At the same time, in order to achieve his overall artistic conception, he even added human voices. In his Ninth Symphony, the chorus sang "Ode to Joy" which revealed an extremely lofty spiritual realm. This ingenious conception and bold practice fully illustrate Beethoven's extraordinary courage and outstanding genius as a generation of symphony masters.

We usually classify Beethoven's nine symphonies as untitled and titled. His first, second, fourth, seventh and eighth symphonies are untitled. The third (hero), the fifth (fate), the sixth (pastoral) and the ninth (chorus) have titles. His two kinds of symphonies formed two creative routes, which had a profound impact on the symphony creation of future generations.

Beethoven's tone creation has also greatly influenced the later symphony creation. For example, the fifth (fate), which we are all familiar with, is the shortest theme so far. It has only four tones, and this fate motive runs through four movements all the time.

In addition, Beethoven perfected and expanded the band organization. In his symphonies, we find that he used instruments that Haydn and Mozart did not use. For example, piccolo, bassoon, trombone and some percussion instruments such as triangle, big cymbals, drums, etc. More importantly, he quoted human voices in his ninth symphony. When we face Beethoven's symphonies, what makes us feel the strongest is Beethoven's spirit.

Beethoven's motto is "Go to joy through suffering; Go to victory through struggle. " His music is geared to all mankind, and our times still need the Beethoven spirit of fortitude, bravery, courage and perseverance.

from the late 18th century to the early 19th century, romantic artistic thoughts began to permeate into the music field. Schubert's Symphony in B Minor (Unfinished) with the symphonic nature of artistic songs, the title symphonies of Berlioz and Liszt, symphonie fantastique and Dante, Schumann's poetic Symphony in Spring, Brahms' four symphonies full of traditional spirit but romantic connotation, a series of symphonies of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky and dvorak with strong national characteristics, and various symphonies by composers such as Saint-Sang, Musorgskiy and rimsky. In the late 19th century, Austrian composer Mahler wrote ten symphonies, in which he developed the symphonies to the limit in order to express his inner complex spiritual world. For example, his Eighth Symphony is called "Symphony of Thousand People". In addition to Mahler, in the late 19th century, many composers of national music schools in various countries should be called symphony masters. Such as sibelius of Finland, Janacek of Czech Republic, Glazunov of Russia and Rachmaninov, have made outstanding contributions to the world symphony music art to some extent.

At the intersection of the 19th and 2th centuries, many ideological trends symbolizing the artistic style of the new era began to emerge more and more. Impressionism of Debussy (France), romanticism of Richard Strauss (Germany) and atonality of Schoenberg (Austria) all permeated into the creation of symphonies, which laid the foundation for the creation of various symphonic music in the 2th century. Among the many composers in the 2th century, there are countless people who have made outstanding contributions to the creation of symphonies and other genres. Among them, Russian composers Prokofiev, Khachaturian, Shostakovich, British composer Britten, Hungarian composer Bartok, American composers Stravinsky, Gershwin and so on have the greatest influence. Their symphonies, concertos, symphonic poems, rhapsody, capriccio and many other works have greatly enriched the treasure house of world symphonic music. And thus constitutes an important chapter in the creation of symphony music in the 2th century.

The emergence and development of symphonic music is closely related to the rapid development of human social civilization. From a historical point of view, it really came into being with the cultural and economic development of the whole human society. From the perspective of development, in the new century and even in the future, it will also be regarded as an elegant cultural and artistic classic and rich spiritual food, making greater contributions to the development of human social progress and the spiritual needs of people's lives.

3. Common sense of symphony orchestra

1. Composition and formation process of symphony orchestra

The real formation of symphony orchestra was in recent hundreds of years, strictly speaking, during the period when classical music in Vienna flourished. Before that, the structure of the symphony orchestra was not perfect, and it was only some orchestras with incomplete compilation. For example, in the creation of Haydn and Mozart, the establishment and scale of the band are limited to small bands with chamber music characteristics. The form and organization of the symphony orchestra was finally perfected in Beethoven's creation. For example, in the creation of Beethoven's symphonies, the symphony orchestra with two pipes or three pipes has been basically determined. Later, in the whole process of romantic music from the early to the late 19th century, the compilation and combination form of symphony orchestra was further improved. The appearance of the large-scale four-pipe symphony orchestra and the addition of various characteristic instruments have enriched the acoustic effect and artistic expression of the symphony orchestra. These characteristics are fully reflected in the works of Mahler, Richard Strauss and 2th century modern composers such as Proffit Yev, Shostakovich and Stravinsky.

2. Compilation of Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Orchestra is a big family of instrumental music in the music kingdom. Generally speaking, it is divided into five instrumental groups: string group, woodwind group, brass group, percussion group and color instrument group. The following groups introduce various musical instruments (they are all instruments from high to low):

String group: violin, viola, cello and cello for double.

woodwind group: piccolo, flute, oboe, English pipe, clarinet and bassoon.

copper tube set: trumpet, horn, trombone and bass horn.

percussion group: timpani, gong, cymbal, tambourine, triangle iron, etc.

Color musical instrument group: piano, harp, xylophone, aluminum Zhong Qin, etc.

Because the symphony orchestra has adopted so many musical instruments, it has a very rich expressive force. Symphony orchestras are divided into different arrangements according to the style of their works. Such as single-tube, double-tube, three-tube, four-tube and so on.

development history

there was the term symphony in the Renaissance, but the meaning at that time was completely different from now. Symphony at that time generally referred to all multi-voice music. Including vocal music and instrumental music.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, symphonies were used to address overtures and interludes in operas and oratorios. At this time, vocal music was excluded from the concept of symphonies, and "symphonies" became pure instrumental music.

In the early 18th century, overtures and interludes began to be performed in concerts without opera. This has played an important role in the development of symphony. scarlatti, a composer in Naples, Italy, laid a three-stage style of "Allegro-Adagio-Allegro (dance style)" for the overture in his own works, and established the most basic format for the movement format of later symphonies.

In the second half of the 18th century, the Mannheim School in Germany created the technique of melody music in the creation of overture, which improved the musical instrument.