Symphony No. 5
Valentin Silvestrov
Work background
Researched classical background
Silvestrov's Fifth Symphony unfolds as one large movement. It belongs to the period in which his music increasingly revisited the melodic language of earlier Romantic music through distant recollection and changing resonance. The continuous design allows musical gestures to return with altered weight and context. These echoes are a compositional process rather than a catalogue of explicitly named literary scenes.
A listening guide
Editorial listening suggestion: notice how a returning melodic gesture can sound like a recollection.
Listening suggestions are editorial guides to the music.
Forces: Orchestra
Composition: 1980-1982
Composed 1980-82; later performances and recording dates are separate events.
This entry describes the musical work or cycle. Composition, premiere and publication dates describe different events. Performers and recordings can be explored through the external listening search.
Schott Music: Silvestrov Fifth Symphony
1980-82 composition, continuous symphonic work and large orchestra | Reviewed 2026-10-19
BIS Records: Silvestrov Symphonies 4 and 5
1980-82 Fifth Symphony in one movement and musical recollection as stylistic context | Reviewed 2026-10-19
Sources for this work
Schott Music: Silvestrov Fifth Symphony
1980-82 composition, continuous symphonic work and large orchestra | Reviewed 2026-10-19
BIS Records: Silvestrov Symphonies 4 and 5
1980-82 Fifth Symphony in one movement and musical recollection as stylistic context | Reviewed 2026-10-19
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