What is the difference between a symphony and a suite

I just saw someone had posted about suites a couple of years ago and wondered if they were worth buying and I was given bad advice.

Mar, 5. Suites are usually condensed arrangements of non symphony pieces such as a ballet. And the noise begat rhythm. And the rhythm begat everything else. Mar, 6. Originally Posted by starthrower. Mar, 7. And some "symphonies" are really suites. Such as Gottschalk's Symphony no. It's a suite - one movement is a symphonic poem, the other an invigorating dance. Mar, 8. Mar, 9. I'm going to have to read up on this. That's ok. My brain has a limited number of brains cells.

In a symphony, while there may be solo passages, the musicians are really all in it together. Concertos traditionally have three movements, while symphonies have four — though there are plenty that have more, or less.

That aside, both follow typical formal musical structures. The soloist is given free rein to really show what they can do — some were composed, but others are left to the performer to realise. A suite is an ordered set of individual pieces or movements, tied together by themes or tonalities.

What do the following have in common: a collection of Baroque courtly dances, the must-have furnishing for a suburban living room, and the convenience attached to the more desirable kind of hotel bedroom? Around the middle of the 16th century, someone seems to have hit on the idea of using the word to signify dances designed to be performed together — though at this stage it was rarely more than a pair.