Symphonies in One Movement

[3rd Viennese School]

Well now. You’ve got Henze symphony no.4. And 6.
You’ve got Maxy symphony no.5 and 8 (Antartica)
And Pendereki.

And Schnittke symphony no.4 is surprisingly good. I was a bit wary as it has singing in it, but it’s not a lot and is quite good. The symphony has a sense of symmetry.. The singing appears a third of the way through, and two thirds of the way through. And near the end.
In the middle section we get the more dramatic music with an out of tune piano inbetween these 2 sections.

It’s straight out the box.
3VS

“We are all but cows looking over a gate for half an hour”

[Bryn]

Pasing judgement Scriabin's organisation of sound is no indication of sound judgement.

[NickWraight]

Kalevi Aho's 2nd Symphony: the one with the 3 (?) fugues and coda, all running together.

[Threni]

Stravinsky Symphonies of Wind Instruments ;)

Although not a symphony in that sense of the word.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Havergal Brian surely contributed quite a few, though the exact number may depend on how organic you want the integration of movements to be. Some of his works are described as 'in 4 linked movements' or similar, while others are more like Sibelius 7 in that there are certainly sections that can be seen as separate 'movements' in a total symphonic whole, but no clear agreement on exactly where they begin and end!

HB's symphonies 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16 and 31 must be contenders. There are doubtless others as my acquaintance with his oeuvre is patchy, and I have only the first of Malcolm Macdonald's books, covering Symphonies 1-10, to refer to.

No 6, Sinfonia Tragica, my favourite HB symphony, is a clearcut case as it started life as an overture to an unrealised operatic version of Synge's Deirdre of the Sorrows. I reckon that would have needed to be a helluva big opera to match the scale of the overture!

[makropulos]

Pasing judgement Scriabin's organisation of sound is no indication of sound judgement.

Perhaps we're on safer ground with Myaskovsky? I don't think anyone's mentioned him yet, but at least two symphonies (10 and 21) are, I think, one-movement works - and there may be more (my copy of the Svetlanov set is not handy at the moment).

[3rd Viennese School]

There appears to be 2 approaches to the 1 mvt symphony.

1. In one big sonata form. Exp, Dev. Recap and all that stuff
2. In several sections like first bit , slow, scherzo, last bit.

Of course, there are blurry lines and you can have both
eg. Pendereki 5.

Expostion: First bit/ slow/ scherzo x 2 / trio/ scherzo

Development and Recap : Those things above again but more heightend and in a different order.

Pendereki 1 is in 4 sections but could this be 4 mvts played without a break? Once again, blurry lines.

There is the more dodgy 1 mvt symphonies which could just be the first mvt of a symphony and nothing else eg. Myastosky symphony no.21.
Or sections played without a break.

You could even stick Mozart 32 in this catogary! Once again, blurry lines.

The Schnittke 4 sectins run into each other and is convincing as a 1 mvt symphony.

But I’m sure they say Schoenberg symphony no.1 is 4 mvts (or even 5!) played without a break, but those mvts correspond to one sonata form i.e. Double exposition, Scherzo and Development, Slow, Recap.

3VS

“We are all but cows looking over a gate for half an hour”

[Lion-of-Vienna]

LeMartinPecheur is correct in saying that Havergal Brian contributed a number of one movement symphonies. The only one in his list that I disagree with is No9 which, to me, is in three movements that lead into one another. We should also include in his list 13, 14, 16, 17 and 24.

Brian, in his later works, seems to have favoured a much rarer beast in the form of the two movement symphony. Nos 22, 23, 26 and 30 are of this type. I can't think of many other two movement symphonies apart from Prokofiev's 2nd.

[Suffolkcoastal]

I can't think of many other two movement symphonies apart from Prokofiev's 2nd.

Nielsen 5 comes to mind instantly as a two movement work. W Schuman 3 is in two movements though each movement is in two sections. W Schuman's 6th & 9th symphonies are technically one movement symphonies though each can be subdivided into sections, both the works play continuously. I also mentioned the Brian one movement symphonies in my first posting (posting 7)!

[Sydney Grew]

. . . a much rarer beast in the form of the two movement symphony.

Well there is of course Tony Webern's contribution, but that is hardly a real symphony is it. While the avant-garde of to-day delight in outdoing each other in the silliness of their titles, Webern's "Symphonie" is more a case of a sensible title being applied in a silly way.

[3rd Viennese School]

Lutoslawski symphony no.2 and 4 are in 2 mvts.
He uses the idea of mvt 1 being the first bit then mvt 2 being the main mvt.

No.4 to me sounds like a 1 mvt sonata form and I had to read up on where the 2nd mvt actually started.

No.2 is properly in 2 equal mvts.
Mvt 1 is Hesitant which plays lots of short phrases for orchestral groupings then stopping each time.
Mvt 2 is a whole continous dramatic mvt in which every man and his sink is included.

Not heard no.3 yet. That has his usual 2 mvts followed by a coda.

If you was composing a continous 1 mvt piece like a symphony how would you make up your mind whether to have mvts or sections?

3VS



“We are all but cows looking over a gate for half an hour”

[Tapiola]

Single movement symphonies: Arvo Part's 3rd, Silvestrov's 5th.

[Panjandrum]

Single movement symphonies: Arvo Part's 3rd, Silvestrov's 5th.

Tapiola?

[Tapiola]

Yes, I am, Panjandrum.
My creator's 8th, in all but name. He burnt his "9th", you know

[Panjandrum]

Yes, I am, Panjandrum.
My creator's 8th, in all but name. He burnt his "9th", you know

Indeed. Donald "Where's Yer troosers" McLeod provided some insights into this lamentable occurrence today. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kh462

Btw, a fine pair of whiskers you have there, Tapiola; positively Ibsenesque.