Symphony No. 1 (Brian) Symphony No. 1 (Brian) The Symphony No. 1 in D minor (The Gothic) by Havergal Brian is a symphony composed between 1919 and 1927. At around one and three quarter hours, it is among the longest symphonies ever composed (with Gustav Mahler's 3rd Symphony, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji's nine-hour 2nd Organ Symphony and Dimitrie Cuclin's unperformed No. 12) and, along with choral symphonies such as Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony or Mahler's Eighth Symphony, it is one of a few works attempting to use the musically gigantic to address the spiritual concerns of humanity. With a key-scheme that begins in D
Symphony No. 1 (Raff) Symphony No. 1 (Raff) Symphony No. 1 in D major "An das Vaterland" ("To the Fatherland"), Op. 96, was composed by Joachim Raff between 1859 and 1861. The work was Raff's first numbered symphony, though not the first symphony he had written. He composed a Grand Symphony in E minor, WoO. 18, in 1854, but only two of the work's original five movements survive. Raff entered the completed symphony in a competition organized in Vienna, sponsored by Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and judged by Ferdinand Hiller, Carl Reinecke, Robert Volkmann and Vinzenz Lachner. It won first prize out of 32 entries.