The history of the symphony is examined in the BBC television program “Symphony: New Nations and New Worlds.” The program takes a closer look at certain movements in the European symphony and how the symphony migrated throughout Europe and to America.

“Simon Russell Beale continues his history of the symphony by taking a musical journey through the rise of nationalism in Europe into the New World. He discovers how nationalist voices such as Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and Sibelius brought the symphony to wider audiences and visits Dvorak’s summer house as he left it at his death in 1904, a remarkable insight into the personal life of the great composer. Simon follows the development of the symphony outside Europe and explores how growing urbanisation led to the construction and growing popularity of some of the world’s greatest concert halls, visiting the Musikverein in Vienna, the Philharmonic Hall in St Petersburg and Carnegie Hall in New York. The symphonies are played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder.”

You can watch this program and other British shows on FilmOn.com, which has live TV stations like BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV and BBC News, which is embedded below. FilmOn also has original programming, streaming movies and exclusive content. FilmOn is available for viewing for free in SD or, for a low monthly subscription, in HD with added DVR recording space.