tone poem

American  

noun

Music.

1. an instrumental composition intended to portray a particular story, scene, mood, etc.

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tone poem British  

noun

1. another term for symphonic poem

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Etymology

Origin of tone poem

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Here, across 12 minutes, the orchestra turns a four-note motif into a vivid tone poem—shifting moods and colors, restless movement, and a brilliant closing spotlight for virtuoso clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton.

From The Wall Street Journal

The score is a tone poem for cascading piano, string quartet and sighing clarinet lines.

From Los Angeles Times

“I wanted people to see this film like I saw ‘Bambi,’ as the most glorious, sophisticated tone poem of a story that packs a wallop.

From Los Angeles Times

This is less a traditional documentary than a collection of non-narrative tone poems, which abstract the spirit of the games rather than charting any individual story.

From Los Angeles Times

Written for large orchestra and inspired by Madame Helena Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society, the symphonic tone poem is a fantastical transformation of the Greek myth of Prometheus, who steals fire from the gods.

From Los Angeles Times