Symphony in B-flat major, Op. 20

Chausson wrote only one symphony, and it opens with a slow introduction so broad and weighty that it almost feels like a world being built from scratch: low strings and bassoons set a dark, solemn foundation before the music suddenly breaks into a bright, fast Allegro vivo that sounds entirely different in character. The symphony follows a three-movement structure shaped by cyclic form, meaning a core theme returns and transforms across all three movements, a technique Chausson learned from his teacher César Franck. The slow second movement begins in D minor and works its way, through a double climax, to a resolution in D major.

What to listen for

In the third movement, the opening material is stated in rapid sixteenth-note figures that alternate between strings and woodwinds, creating a driving, interlocking texture. Later in the movement, an epilogue brings back material from earlier in the symphony, so themes you heard in the first movement reappear in a changed context. Notice how the cyclic theme shifts weight and colour each time it returns, rather than simply repeating.

Recommended recording

The recording by Yan Pascal Tortelier and the BBC Philharmonic on Chandos has been frequently described as a persuasive and well-balanced account of the work.

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