Symphony on a French Mountain Air
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The Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français (English: Symphony on a French Mountain Air), op. 25, written in 1886 by Vincent d'Indy, is virtually the only work by the composer which still receives regular performances today. As indicated by the title, d'Indy took the principal theme from a folk song he heard in the Cévennes mountains (hence the work's alternative name, Symphonie cévenole). The symphony is unusual in that it is scored for a prominent (but never dominant) piano part together with orchestra, and has acquired the label sinfonia concertante from some critics. It consists of three movements and lasts just under half an hour: