symphonic poem

American  

noun

Music.

1. a form of tone poem, scored for a symphony orchestra, in which a literary or pictorial “plot” is treated with considerable program detail: originated by Franz Liszt in the mid-19th century and developed especially by Richard Strauss.

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symphonic poem British  

noun

1. Also called: tone poem.  music an extended orchestral composition, originated by Liszt, based on nonmusical material, such as a work of literature or folk tale

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Etymology

Origin of symphonic poem

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Richard Strauss’ early symphonic poem “Death and Transfiguration” followed.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2023

This collaboration led to “Gaia,” a spellbinding symphonic poem featuring Spalding’s vocals and libretto, premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2013.

From Washington Post • Dec. 2, 2021

Mr. Eifman ends “Red Giselle” with the best-known melody from Tchaikovsky’s symphonic poem “Francesca da Rimini.”

From New York Times • Jun. 4, 2017

This is where he developed the symphonic poem genre and composed some of his finest orchestral works.

From Washington Times • Mar. 4, 2015

In its purest form, the symphonic poem style is what orchestral film music grew out of in the 1920s and ’30s, its job to support and describe something outside music.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall