Symphonies
List of News Articles

The (mis)numbering of symphonies
18 May 2026
We look at the thorny issue of how symphonies are numbered. Warning: may cause confusion!
Beethoven's Seventh: the apotheosis of the dance?
27 April 2026
How has Wagner's epithet affected the way we approach this favourite Beethoven symphony?
The Curse of the Ninth
13 April 2026
You've composed nine symphonies. Do you start another, or would you fall foul to the dreaded Curse of the Ninth? [insert dramatic music]
The great Beethoven symphonies
9 February 2026
In which we bite the bullet and look at four unmissable works
Beethoven's 'lesser' symphonies
26 January 2026
Why are some Beethoven symphonies better-known than others?
The search for Beethoven's successor
19 January 2026
Beethoven died in 1827. Who would be worthy to take on his mantle?
Mozart and the symphony
22 December 2025
Stuck between the symphonies of Haydn and Beethoven, where do Mozart's fit in?
Unfinished symphonies
15 December 2025
Your starter for ten: besides Schubert, who has an unfinished symphony to their name?
Not quite a symphony: the sinfonietta, divertimento and serenade
13 October 2025
Our series on the symphony takes a slight detour to look at those works which don't quite make the grade.
Haydn, Father of the Symphony
22 September 2025
In the latest in our series looking at the symphony, what makes Haydn so significant in its development?
Symphonies and their nicknames
8 September 2025
Beethoven's Fifth has a nickname? Well, it does according to some people ...
Schubert's Unfinished and other incomplete works
1 November 2024
Schubert is far from the only composer to have put a piece of music aside and leave it unfinished ...