The Daily Book of Classical Music

DAY 352

COMPOSITIONAL FORMS

Tone Poem

EVERY PIECE TELLS A STORY

Remember how Romantic composers were inspired to portray literary scenes or characters with short character pieces? These composers also composed larger orchestral works based on literature, called “tone poems.” There had been earlier symphonies based on literary programs, most notably Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. But those programmatic symphonies were still based on traditional symphonic forms.

Tone poems are not based on sonata, binary, ternary, or other standard forms. Rather, the form is determined by the literary model, with references to other musical works or representations ...