Part I. Identities, Institutions, Influences, Reception: 1. Unmasking the symphonists: composer identity and the symphonic genre Amy E. Zigler; 2. Performance institutions and commissioning bodies Fiona M. Palmer; 3. Media institutions and networks: publishing, broadcasting and recording symphonies Emily C. Hoyler O'Hare; 4. Educating symphonists David C. H. Wright; 5. External influences: style and technique Christopher Tarrant; 6. Critical reception Imani Danielle Mosley; Part II. England, 1900-45: 7. Elgar and the symphony in Britain before World War I: contexts for the 'looked-for Genius' Matthew Riley; 8. The interwar years Jennifer Oates; Part III. Ireland, Scotland and Wales Since 1900: 9. Exploring routes to the symphonic tradition from the edge of Europe: the symphony in Ireland Mark Fitzgerald; 10. Scottish inspiration: the growth of a symphonic tradition in Scotland Richard McGregor; 11. A panorama of the symphony in Wales Rhiannon Mathias; Part IV. England Since 1945: 12. Continuation and tradition? The cultural function of the post-1945 British symphony Jonathan Clinch; 13. Reanimating the genre Annika Forkert; 14. Voices from the Hinterland Ben Earle; Part V. Composers in Focus: 15. Ralph Vaughan Williams Ryan Ross; 16. The 'inner flow of life': narratives of agency and embodiment in the symphonies of Michael Tippett Rebecca Thumpston-Gallagher; 17. Eclectic unities? Malcolm Arnold's 'symphonic thinking' Oliver Chandler; 18. Between tradition and transformation: the symphonies of Ruth Gipps Jill Halstead; 19. Peter Maxwell Davies's symphonic imagination Nicholas Jones; 20. 'Rituals of movement, exhortation, petition and joy': the symphonies of James MacMillan Philip Cooke; Part VI. Contemporary Composer Reflections: 21. The medium is the message Rhian Samuel; 22. On symphonying Thomas Hyde; 23. Creating Epic narratives with the power of the symphony Shirley J. Thompson; 24. Symphonising now Kevin O'Connell.