Symphonic Poem

A musical term for a one movement orchestral work with a programmatic element for a descriptive real or imaginary story or event. The symphonic poem was sparked by composer's desire to associate meaning with emotion. It was taken up in Bohemia and Russia as a means of propaganda for nationalist ideas. It is also referred to as TONE POEM, musical composition for orchestra inspired by an extra-musical idea, story, or "program," to which the title typically refers.

The characteristic single-movement symphonic poem evolved from the concert-overture, an overture not attached to an opera or play yet suggestive of a literary or natural sequence of events (e.g., Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave, also called Hebrides Overture).

In the symphonic poems of Smetana and Sibelius an element of nationalism is added. Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (1895), influenced by Alexander Ritter's tone poems, carried the programmatic possibilities to an extreme of realism, in contrast to the impressionistic tone poems of Debussy, such as Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faune (1894).

Thematic transformation is a result of Liszt's metamorphosis-of-themes' principle where themes are subjected to modification through the change of tempo, rhythm, accompaniment, time-signature.

Leitmotif, a fixed idea where its used to represent an idea, emotion or character which is of significance to the programmatic element of the work, was used in a significant number of composers' works, namely, Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Wagner's numerous symphonic works. It is used to reinforce the dramatic action, to provide psychological insight into the characters, and to recall or suggest to the listener extramusical ideas relevant to the dramatic event.