The symphony came about in the mid-to-late 18th century branching from other styles such as Italian sinfonia, or Italian opera. The early symphony style began in Italy with composers such as Giovanni Battista Sammartini (1700-1775) in Milan. Sammartini arranged his compositions in a fast-slow-fast arrangement of three to four movements, similar to the structure of Alessandro Scarlatti and other early composers. Homophonic style was employed so that no one instrumentalist or vocalist would overpowered certain harmonies and create an overall more dramatic effect. Musical ensembles of this time were comprised of violin I, violin II, viola, and cello. Each phrase in the works were given one or two distinctive ideas, theme A and theme B. In between …show more content…
Here, not only did the history of the symphony change but so did the development of the orchestra. In Mannheim, Johann Stamitz, a violinist and composer, laid the official foundation for Classic style. A four piece movement with a minuet and trio as the third movement, and a Presto finale became the standard form for symphony compositions. Stamitz created a new style of composition with three to four movements, consisting of a minuet and trio in the third movement and a presto finale. The length of the sonata-form in the first movement of his symphonies were expanded, offering a greater contrast between the two themes included in the sonata-form employed by his predecessors. As a composer, Stamitz recognized the larger classical dimensions of music, calling for broader contrasts. This led him to the stabilization of tonal coloring of the orchestra. He also experimented with musical ideas and rhythms, creating momentum and employing transitional mechanisms designed to push from one movement to the next. In his new symphony orchestra, Stamitz expanded and added new instruments. This ensemble consisted of two french horn, oboe, flute, clarinet, timpani, and bassoon as well. This dynamic range of instruments allowed for a wide of color and tone, from the softest pianissimos to the loudest fortissimos with thrilling crescendos in