Inspired by the poems of Walt Whitman and the brass fanfares of Tchaikovsky, the American Frederick Converse composed his orchestral fantasy in 1904. Copland’s first major orchestral work, Organ Symphony, intertwines jazzy rhythms and bluesy melodies with flurries in the winds and whimsical brass outbursts.

When asked what impact Beethoven had on his first symphony, Brahms explained, “You can’t have any idea what it’s like always to hear such a giant marching behind you.” The symphony took Brahms over 20 years to complete and fluctuates between moments of dark turbulence and blissful resolution.