Cocktail Party Fact: Nicknamed “Symphony of a Thousand” this is the largest symphony ever written [that actually gets played regularly]. You can actually do it with about 450 people if necessary.
Commitment Factor: 75 - 80 minutes
Vital Statistics: Late Romantic/Modern Period (1906). Composed in two large movements, the first is a setting of the Latin hymn [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: The better you know Mahler, the more you will realize that his entire life’s work is like one large piece of music. The symphonies share themes, rhythms, and structural ideas. The very opening of this symphony is a trumpet fanfare that first appears in the first movement of the Fourth Symphony.
Commitment Factor: [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: Despite his reputation for using vast orchestras, this is the only symphony composed in the latter half of the nineteenth century or the first decades of the 20th that does not include trombones.
Commitment Factor: About 55 minutes
Vital Statistics: Late Romantic Period (1900). A four-movement symphony in very unconventional form–the finale is a [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: This is the longest symphony ever written that actually gets played regularly.
Commitment Factor: 90 - 100 minutes
Vital Statistics: Late Romantic Period (1898). This symphony contains six movements, the fourth of which is an alto solo setting words by Nietzsche, while the fifth is a song that includes choruses of women and children. [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: This titanic work was, without a doubt, the biggest piece of music ever written when it was composed. It’s still in the top few.
Commitment Factor: 75 - 90 minutes (Mahler allows great freedom of tempo, so actual timings can vary considerably.)
Vital Statistics: Late Romantic Period (1894). This vast symphony has five movements–a [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: The original version of this symphony had five movements, not four. The extra movement, called “Blumine” (”Flowers”), was extracted by the composer, but some conductors put it back.
Commitment Factor: 50 - 55 minutes
Vital Statistics: Late Romantic Period (1888). A five-movement symphony in cyclical form (the themes from the first movement reappear in [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: The second and fourth movements of this symphony are so rhythmically complex that they require an extra conductor (sometimes two).
Commitment Factor: About 30 minutes
Vital Statistics: Late Romantic/Modern Period (1909-16). A four-movement symphony in which the first movement poses a question (the chorus singing the hymn “Watchman tell us of the night,”–which ends [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: This is the seventh of the so-called “London Symphonies,” and the first to be written for Haydn’s second visit to London.
Commitment Factor: About 25 minutes
Vital Statistics: Classical Period (1794). A warm, gracious four-movement symphony with slow introduction.
What to Listen For: With this symphony, the basic classical orchestra is established in its [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: This is the sixth of the so-called “London Symphonies.” Mozart died while Haydn was in England, and when the news reached him, he was inconsolable. Haydn was virtually alone in considering Mozart to be the greatest composer alive, though history was to prove his judgment sound. The slow movement of this symphony, [...]

Cocktail Party Fact: This is the fifth of the so-called “London Symphonies,” and the very last in Haydn’s “ceremonial” key of C major.
Commitment Factor: 20 - 25 minutes
Vital Statistics: Classical Period (1791). A four-movement symphony with slow introduction. The slow movement is a fascinating Theme and Variations with an orchestral surprise: the violins have a [...]