Symphony instruments, 19th century symphonies were gradually augmented with more string players and more wind parts, so that the orchestra grew substantially in sheer numbers, as concert halls likewise grew. At the beginning of the 20th century, Gustav Mahler wrote long, large-scale symphonies. His Eighth Symphony, for example, was composed in 1906 and is nicknamed the "Symphony of a Thousand" because of the large number of voices required to perform the work. Additionally, his Third Symphony is one of the longest regularly performed symphonies at around 100 minutes in length for most performances. The 20th century also saw further diversification in
Symphony No. 59 (Haydn) Symphony No. 59 (Haydn) The Symphony No. 59 in A major is a relatively early work by Joseph Haydn that is known popularly as the Fire Symphony. Composed under the auspices of Nikolaus Esterházy, it was written in the middle or late 1760s. Despite its high number, the symphony is one of several in the Hoboken classification system (Symphony No. 72 is another good example, as it was composed even earlier) that is unsympathetically misplaced. It is, in fact, a moderately early work, certainly composed before 1769, and possibly as early 1765. By contrast, the Symphony No. 62 was written