What is a symphony? An answer for kids

A symphony is a long piece of music for a whole orchestra. It has no soloist and tells no story on a stage. Most symphonies have four movements, and each movement has its own speed and mood. A short symphony lasts about 20 minutes. A long one can pass an hour.

The word has a second meaning. People say “the symphony” when they mean a symphony orchestra. Read orchestra vs symphony vs philharmonic.

The four movements

Movement	Speed	What to expect
First	Fast	The longest and most serious. Two main tunes are stated, changed, and brought back.
Second	Slow	A calm, singing tune
Third	A dance, or quick and playful	A minuet in older symphonies. A scherzo in later ones.
Fourth	Fast	A bright finish

Not every symphony keeps this plan. Some have three movements, and some have five. Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony has five.

Read what is a movement in classical music?

How to read a symphony’s name

A full name looks like this: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67.

• No. 5 means it is the composer’s fifth symphony.
• C minor is the key it starts in.
• Op. 67 is a number from the list of the composer’s published works.

Some symphonies have a nickname too, such as “Surprise,” “Pastoral,” or “New World.” Composers gave a few of these names. Publishers and audiences added many of the others. Read what opus, K, and BWV numbers mean.

A short history

The symphony grew from the short piece that opened an Italian opera in the 1700s. Composers began to write pieces of that kind for concerts.

Joseph Haydn wrote 104 numbered symphonies and gave the symphony its four-movement shape. Mozart’s symphonies are numbered up to 41. Beethoven wrote nine, and made the symphony bigger and more dramatic. In his Ninth, he added singers.

In the 1800s and 1900s, symphonies grew longer and orchestras grew larger. Read how many symphonies did Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn write?

Symphonies to hear first

Start with one movement, not the whole work.

“Surprise” Symphony, second movement, by Haydn. A quiet tune, and then a bang. See the guide.

“Clock” Symphony, second movement, by Haydn. The bassoons and plucked strings tick like a clock.

Symphony No. 40, first movement, by Mozart. A restless tune that starts at once. See the Symphony No. 40 guide.

Symphony No. 5, first movement, by Beethoven. Four notes that everyone knows. See the guide.

“Pastoral” Symphony, fourth movement, by Beethoven. A thunderstorm in the orchestra. See the Pastoral Symphony guide.

Symphony No. 9, last movement, by Beethoven. The “Ode to Joy,” with a choir. See the guide.

“New World” Symphony, second movement, by Dvořák. A slow tune on the English horn. See the New World Symphony guide.

“Classical” Symphony, by Prokofiev. A whole symphony in about 15 minutes.

Symphony, concerto, or sonata?

Piece	Who plays	Movements
Symphony	An orchestra	Four, as a rule
Concerto	A soloist and an orchestra	Three, as a rule
Sonata	One or two players	Three or four

Read what is a concerto?, what is a sonata?, and symphony, concerto, and sonata explained.

At a concert

• A symphony is often the last and longest piece on the program.
• The audience waits until the end of the last movement to clap. Read when to clap at a classical concert.
• The program lists the movements by their speed words. Count them off as they pass.
• For a first visit, read first orchestra concert with kids.

Things to do together

Count the movements. Look at the track list for a symphony. Each track is one movement. Read the speed word beside each one. Read tempo words in music.

Fast, slow, dance, fast. Play ten seconds from each movement of a Haydn symphony. Your child calls out which of the four it is.

Name it. Play a movement with no nickname. Ask your child to give it one.

Hear the tune come back. In a first movement, raise a hand each time the opening tune returns.

Short or long? Compare the length of a Haydn symphony and a later one on a streaming service.

Print and play

Use a listening journal page for each movement. Place Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven on the composer timeline. Read Haydn for kids.