When even pop songs have shortened from about four minutes to three since the 1990s, how are orchestral forms of classical music to compete in the crowded music market?
Enter the symphonina, a musical form designed for the digital era.
The internet has changed much, not only about the music business, but in terms of how we consume any arts and entertainment. It’s no secret that our collective attention span has shortened considerably over the last two decades or so overall.
There seems to be an uptick in interest in classical music among younger listeners, that coveted 18 to 34 age group. But, it’s largely fuelled by social media, where even artists like Anna Lapwood, the British organist who’s become a TikTok superstar, is getting ahead based on short format videos, and not full- length pieces.
Listeners love releases like the Bridgerton: Season 3 Soundtrack, where pop songs get an orchestral arrangement, but when it comes to traditional repertoire, and its 30 minutes-plus symphonies and other works, not so much.
What Is A Symphonina?
While he grew up listening to Western art music, by his mid-fifties, musician/composer Dr. David Fogel began to notice that he was often the youngest person at any classical music concert. Like so many other people, he also began to wonder about the future of the art form, and what audiences would be showing up in the decades to come.
“It’s great that any symphony orchestra gets [financial] support, but the question is about who is listening,” he told the San Diego Union Tribune. “And what are they going to be playing?”
What does designing a musical form for the future mean? In a word, shorter is better.
“We’re used to songs being three or four minutes long,” he notes. “If you aren’t into classical music, you aren’t going to commit to a 14-minute song. Rather than fight that, I thought we could make music that is in the pattern. So the full symphonies are about 10 minutes long, with three or so movements. We can provide it in a format listeners are accustomed to.”
A symphonina is an orchestral form consisting of three or four movements, each three to four minutes long. The entire work, in other words, will last 10 to 12 minutes.
On the Foundation website, he explains, “That way, everyone can appreciate symphonic music within the time it takes to listen to a few pop tunes — and my hope is not only will people enjoy this new format but it will get them more eager to explore the classics, and even create new symphonic music for the world to enjoy.”
While it’s designed to capture modern sensibilities, the symphonina a form that is also rooted in the past. As the website points out, the early Italian sinfonia typically consisted of three movements. Before about 1760, symphonies were perhaps 10 to 20 minutes in length. Their size and length expanded with the Romantic era, from Beethoven’s 30 to 40 minutes, to Mahler and Bruckner, and an hour’s length or even more.
A symphonina by Steven Locks:
The Symphonina Foundation
Dr. David Fogel and Gary Gray founded The Symphonina Foundation as a non-profit in 2020 with the goal of spreading the joy of orchestral classical music to younger audiences through a form that was created form them. Based in San Diego, California, the Foundation has created the International Symphonina Orchestra, sponsored a composition competition, and released albums of the new musical form.
David Fogel began playing the piano at age five, and went on to study classical technique, switching to jazz in his 20s. He’s released two albums of his own jazz compositions. In addition to his music, he’s an award-winning scientist, and specialist in artificial intelligence, with a PhD from UC San Diego.
Composer, producer and engineer Gary Gray is a Voting Member of the Grammy® Recording Academy. He has produced projects for large clients like 20th Century Fox, Disney, Hollywood Records, A&E, EMI, and CBS, among others. A native of Cleveland, OH, Gary studied music at Northwestern University, Baldwin-Wallace College, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Cleveland State University.
To perform the new works, they created the online International Symphonina Orchestra, producing live recordings. The musicians, as well as the composers, incorporate student and emerging artists, as well as more established composers.
Their second album, Advent of the Symphonina, will be released in August 2024. It includes new symphonina by Fogel along with the work of Alex Unseth, a classically trained cellist, pianist and composer who’s a member of the St. Louis Youth Symphony, and who has been writing music since he was 14, and multi-award winning artist Jordan Jinosko, whose experience includes writing for films as well as performance. Jordan studied music composition and music theory at the University of Michigan and the Eastman Community Music School.
In many respects, the digital environment is an ill-fitting suit when it comes to classical music. Perhaps innovative forms and approaches like the symphonina can bridge the gap between the music’s enduring appeal and the modern musical ecosystem where it now has to find a home.
Find out more about Advent of the Symphonia, available for prerelease now with a release date of August 16, performed by London Symphonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Scoring Orchestra, and the International Symphonic Orchestra, [HERE].
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