Symphony No. Three was not "programmatic" when originally conceived.
The title, Scenarios Medieval with subtitles for the three movements, Grand Entrance, Daybreak (pastoral scene a dawn) and Rustic Dance were added after some listeners, upon hearing the Howard Hanson reading of the composition with the Rochester (NY) Philharmonic, conjectured about the images that came to mind.
The first movement was composed in the conventional first movement form: an exposition of thematic materials, a development section in which the themes are developed and varied, and a recapitulation of the opening materials. The second movement is an introspective slower movement that is followed by a boisterous double fugue as the third and final movement.
The title, Scenarios Medieval with subtitles for the three movements, Grand Entrance, Daybreak (pastoral scene a dawn) and Rustic Dance were added after some listeners, upon hearing the Howard Hanson reading of the composition with the Rochester (NY) Philharmonic, conjectured about the images that came to mind.
The first movement was composed in the conventional first movement form: an exposition of thematic materials, a development section in which the themes are developed and varied, and a recapitulation of the opening materials. The second movement is an introspective slower movement that is followed by a boisterous double fugue as the third and final movement.