Symphonic poems (Liszt)

The symphonic poems of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt are a series of 13 orchestral works, numbered S. 95–107. The first 12 were composed between 1848 and 1858 ; the last, Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe, followed in 1882. They inspired the symphonies of Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, Richard Strauss and others.

About Symphonic poems (Liszt) in brief

Summary Symphonic poems (Liszt)The symphonic poems of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt are a series of 13 orchestral works, numbered S. 95–107. The first 12 were composed between 1848 and 1858 ; the last, Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe, followed in 1882. These works helped establish the genre of orchestrals program music. They inspired the symphonies of Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, Richard Strauss and others. They underwent a continual process of creative experimentation that included many stages of composition, rehearsal and revision to reach a balance of musical form. In the 1830s, concert halls were few, and orchestras served mainly in the production of operas—symphonic works were considered far lower in importance. However, the European music scene underwent a transformation in the 1840s. The lower and middle classes began to take an interest in the arts, which previously had been enjoyed mostly by the clergy and aristocracy. As interest burgeoned, public concerts grew as institutions for the middle class, which was growing prosperous and could now afford to attend. The real question was not so much whether the genre could continue to flourish in the 20th century, but whether it could grow as it had over the previous half-century and flourish as it did in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was a growing sense that these works were aesthetically and aesthetically inferior to Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, and Mozart’s other works.

The early 20th-century composers of the early 19th century were perceived as coming into their own in their own time in their standing in the shadow of Mozart and Haydn. The future of the symphony genre was in doubt, according to musicologist Mark Evan Bonds, as well as the early coming of the Méhulers, Rossini, Céroldini, Héroz, Cerny, Weber, Moscheles, and Weber and Moschele. In their time, the early 20s and 30s, there was a sense that the genre was growing in popularity, but not as much as in the 1820s and 20s. It is still a growing genre today, but it is less popular than the arias and scenes from operas and oratorios that stood prominently in the middle of these concerts. It is not clear if the genre will continue to grow in popularity in the 21st century, as it has done in the past decade and a half, or if it will be eclipsed by other genres such as jazz and classical music. The genre is still in its early stages of development, however, and it is not yet clear whether it will have a lasting impact on the music of the 20s, 30s and 40s. There is a growing awareness of the importance of program music in the contemporary music scene, and of its role in the development of the classical music genre.