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A typical song begins with a brief introduction that establishes space, moves into a verse that advances the narrative, turns through a bridge or b-section that complicates matters, and arrives at a chorus that delivers emotional release. These sections are so short that you usually must repeat this whole structure two or even three times to make a three-minute song.
A four-movement symphony follows the same essential structure but on a vastly different time scale, and with very different intent. Songs return, while symphonies move forward. Songs gain their power from repetition, while symphonies gain theirs from transformation.
In a song, a chorus returns largely unchanged, accumulating emotional force through augmentation. A symphony rarely grants that luxury. Themes return altered by what has happened to them, darkened or brightened, fragmented or reconciled. They possess memory.
