Franz Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 104 “London” – A Classical symphony, this work captures many features of Haydn and his late symphonic style. As his final symphonic work this symphony shows great connections with the ensuing Romantic period and contributes to thinking of these two periods as different expressions of the same formal ideas. While Romanticism can be viewed as a very shocking break from Classical ideals, symphonies such as this show continuity within the periods.

Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral” – This symphony takes the concept of a “storytelling” device to new heights as a loosely programmatic work that contributed strongly to the myth of Beethoven’s genius after the composer’s death. An excellent example of flexible narrative in symphonic form, this work shows the great narrative properties of the orchestra and accurately conveys the Romantic trend, found in literature and visual art, toward the natural world as a source of inspiration and a venue for individual expression.

Alexander Borodin – In the Steppes of Central Asia – A symphonic poem, this work hails from the later Romantic period and captures both the pervasive orientalism of Romanticism and the strong ties between visual arts, music, and literature. The fixture of the steppes in Russian art and literature begins far earlier than the Romantic period, but its fixture as a musical landscape is a hallmark of Russian Romanticism. In addition to participating in the overall Romantic orientalist trend, this music also represents the concept of national music, schools representing the purported authentic musical voice of various nation-states.