symphonys

Symphonys is an uncommon and incorrect plural form of the word symphony. In standard English, the plural is symphonies. A symphony is a large-scale orchestral work intended to evoke a broad range of emotions, usually in several movements, and written for a full symphony orchestra.

The symphony emerged in the mid-18th century during the Classical period, drawing on earlier overture and sinfonia traditions. The form was advanced by composers such as Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and especially Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven. In the 19th century Romantic composers expanded the scale, expressive range, and sometimes programmatic content.

Typical structure: many symphonies consist of four movements arranged fast-slow-dance-fast, with the first movement often in sonata form, exposing two rival themes. Instrumentation grew from a string-based ensemble to a full orchestra of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion; some works include extra instruments or voices, and programmatic symphonies tell a narrative or depict scenes (as in Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique).

Notable examples include Beethoven's Symphonies No. 3–9, Mozart's later symphonies, Tchaikovsky's first in G minor, Bruckner's monumental symphonies, Mahler's symphonies, and Shostakovich's symphonies. The term symphony remains central to the orchestral repertoire and to concert programming across classical music.

The spelling symphonys appears primarily as a misspelling or stylized choice in modern usage; the conventional plural is symphonies.