Symphonic Forms

[mahler10th]

 
Ok, the first movement is generally Sonata Allegro - Inro, Expo, Development, Recap, Coda.
What forms are considered 'standard' for the other three movements?  Do they have 'established' forms?  For example, is the third movement "Scherzo" a form in itself, encompassing the trio?  What is the form of the fourth movement that makes it distinctive from the first movement?  Is the second movement simply termed "Theme and Variation(s)" or is there a form factor there unnamed?

[Jo498]

Slow movements are often also sonata movements, or sometimes what has been called "sonatina form", i.e. sonata form without a development section. There are also slow "rondos" with recurring sections and "episodes" in between.
Haydn's "double variations" are often a cross between rondo and variation form, roughly like A B A' B' A''
Often the large scale of a slow movement is an even simple tripartite structure with a more or less contrasting middle section, e.g. the middle movement of Mozart's d minor piano concerto. Of course, usually something could also be said about the internal structure of one section of such an A-B-A' form.
Scherzo/Menuetto movements are usually in three parts on the largest scale with a contrasting "trio" in the middle, or sometimes in five sections with two trios, similar to a rondo; Beethoven's scherzos in the 4th and 7th have such a ABABA form, Schumann's 2nd has roughly ABACA in the scherzo.
The main sections of large scale scherzo movements are sometimes miniature sonata movements of their own with development and recap.

[aligreto]

Just bookmarking this in order to help further my education 

[Jo498]

Differences between first and last/fourth movements are an interesting question. I think there are one or two early/middle Haydn symphonies where Haydn re-used an ouverture or so for a final movement. But usually, even if both are in what could be classified as sonata form, first and last movements "feel" reliably different. It's hard to say exactly what those differences are. Of course, there are last movements in other forms and sometimes also a mix between rondo and sonata or variations, or fugues.

[relm1]

A few important points:

* Form changed over time.  So in a way, you are asking about classical form.  Prokofiev might use a different form such as theme and variations for the last movement in one of his symphonies and some composers might switch the form all around (Mahler frequently had a 5th movement and maybe starts and ends slow with the fast movements in the middle (No. 9 for instance) but the principal point is they are concerned with balance and contrast...it is not just thematic material but development and transformation of the mood and material. 
* Pre-classical, the symphony perhaps just a trio (A-B-A) but that is the basis of the sonata allegro.  A=Opening with strong tonic association, B= in a contrasting key (relative minor or dominant key), a development of the material that exposes the opening to some elaboration, upon which a return to the identifiable opening A (in later music the return features some form of transformation).  From there, you might add a coda (literary works rarely end at the moment of climax but rather have a bit of reflection of the proceedings that had transpired).  For example, in the case of a story, after the hero conquers the villain, they return home...now as an adult having grown through their experience (the coda).  The intro can be thought of as setting up the tonic for maximum impact.  For instance, in late romantic music, if the Symphony is in D minor, perhaps the first bars will be in A minor (the dominant to D).  A great setup of tension in a very strong A minor will be established (possibly with a pedal of A to emphasize the tonality).  After a few minutes of build in A minor, we get maximum tension with all instruments and then a huge release to the tonic of D minor and now the theme begins.  So that material before was just to give the theme a grand entrance...an intro.
* scherzo in classical period would be a dance form (Minuet or intermezzo) trio so commonly A - B- A.  Think opening material in a somewhat playful vein.  A contrasting lyrical section, and then a return to the opening material.  It will probably be in 8 bar phrases with repeats.
* the slow movement (and the 2nd (fast) and 3rd (slow) are frequently switched in order) can be sonata, trio, or variation.
* A common last movement structure would be a rondo which introduces new material but borrows material from the other movements as well.  Or the material can all be new.  But this gives a classical symphony a way of "summing up" the previous movements and also giving it a sense of summing up the work in its entirety.  This is why in a great symphonists, you can not really swap movements.  For example, with Beethoven No. 5 first movement and 4th movement are the bookend of a transformation from C minor to C major through the course of 30 tumultuous and dramatic minutes utilizing motific and thematic borrowings.  It is a "whole" work. 

In more recent works, some composers found this structure to be limiting but the idea of contrast is the essence that persists.  For instance, Sibelius No. 7 is pretty much all about the development and it is one of the great 20th century symphonies.  Shostakovitch No. 4 is great in how it fuses elements that seem very randomly organized but ultimately fuze with cataclysm.  Both these composers respected traditional forms but also made it their own.

You might enjoy watching Leonard Bernstein's Young People's TV show where he demonstrates his communicative skills talking about symphonic form:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7iHwqAj3Ws (it is 1 hour long so broken into 15 minute episodes all on youtube).

[(poco) Sforzando]

Scots, good comments above especially from relm1. But please don't try to force symphonic forms into any kind of mold or you will find yourself disappointed, or may conclude that there are "norms" from which composers make "exceptions." It might be better to familiarize yourself with the most common basic types - sonata form, ABA dance form such as minuet or scherzo, variations, and rondo - and see how various composers apply these forms with infinite degrees of imagination and individuality. You will find, for instance, that sonata-allegro is Beethoven's most common form for his opening movements. But then there is the quartet op. 131, which starts with a fugue, and reserves its sonata-allegro movement for the finale. Each successful work, in other words, finds its own form.

[Jo498]

The classical quotation for most thoughts about "form" is from the first act of Wagner's "Meistersinger":
Walther: Wie fang ich nach der Regel an? (How do I begin according to the Rule?)
Sachs: Ihr stellt sie selbst und folgt ihr dann. (You posit the rule yourself and then you follow it.)