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. 1 (Harbison) Symphony No. 1 (Harbison) The Symphony No. 1 is the first symphony by the American composer John Harbison. The work was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was composed in 1981. It was given its world premiere in Boston on March 22, 1984 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Seiji Ozawa. The symphony has a duration of roughly 24 minutes and is composed in four movements: The work is scored for a large orchestra comprising three flutes (doubling piccolo and alto flute), three oboes (doubling English horn), three clarinets (doubling bass clarinet), three bassoons (doubling contrabassoon), four