Acomplete re-assessment of orchestral forces regarding form, rhythm, and tonality took place in the years before World War I. This fresh approach to instrumental writing was coupled with a greater willingness to experiment, and the possibilities that emerged informed the extraordinary diversity of orchestral music for the whole century.
The natural legacy of 19th-century Romantic music took the form of orchestral gigantism. Massive orchestras stretched music to its limits in the symphonies...