Symphony No. 16 (Myaskovsky)

Nikolai Myaskovsky's Symphony No. 16 in F major, op. 39, was composed in 1935-6 and has the nickname Aviation-Symphony.

The Symphony is in four movements:

1. Allegro vivace
2. Andantino e semplice, in B♭ major
3. Sostenuto. Andante marciale, ma sostenuto in A minor
4. Tempo precedente. Allegro ma non troppo (A minor followed by F major)

The symphony was said to be inspired by the crash of the Maxim Gorky.

The premiere was on October 24, 1936, in Moscow with the Moscow Philharmonic conducted by E. Szenkar.

The first movement begins with a triplet accompaniment and a chromatic main theme. The second movement is a dance-like intermezzo. This is followed by a funeral march, and following without pause, a finale that quotes a song written by Myaskovsky, "The Aeroplanes are Flying".