Symphony No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)

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Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 was written by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1906-1907. The premiere was conducted by the composer himself in St. Petersburg on 8 February 1908. Its duration is approximately 60 minutes when performed uncut: cut performances can be as short as 40 minutes.

The score is dedicated to Sergei Taneyev, pupil of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Russian composer, teacher, theorist, and author.

1 History
- 1.1 Revisions
2 Music
- 2.1 Scoring
- 2.2 Movements
3 Selected Recordings
4 External links

[edit] History

At the time his Symphony No. 2 in E minor was composed, Rachmaninoff had had two successful seasons as the conductor of Imperial Opera at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Rachmaninoff considered himself first and foremost a composer and felt that the performance schedule was detracting from his time to compose. He then moved his wife and infant daughter to Dresden, Germany to spend more time composing and to also escape the political tumult that would put Russia on the path to revolution. The family remained in Dresden for three years, spending summers at Rachmaninoff’s in-law’s estate called Ivanovka. It was during this time that Rachmaninoff wrote not only his Second Symphony, but also the tone poem The Isle of the Dead.

Rachmaninoff was not altogether convinced that he was a gifted symphonist. At its premiere, his Symphony No. 1 (conducted by Alexander Glazunov in 1897) was considered an utter disaster; its criticism was so harsh that it sent the young composer into a bout of depression. Even after the success of his Piano Concerto No. 2 (which won the Glinka Award and 1000 rubles in 1904), Rachmaninoff still lacked confidence in his writing. He was very unhappy with the first draft of his Second Symphony and the restless composer, now thirty years old, had to force himself to finish it. After months of revision, Rachmaninoff finished the work and conducted the premier in 1908 to great success which would earn him another Glinka Award ten months later. The triumph regained Rachmaninoff’s sense of self-worth as a symphonist.

[edit] Revisions

Because of its long length, Symphony No. 2 has been subjected to many revisions, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s, that reduced the piece from nearly an hour to 35 minutes. Rachmaninoff himself suggested a brief cut in the Finale, but the entire work is so carefully structured that the radical revisions deeply distorted the carefully planned structure of the piece. Today, however, the piece is usually performed in its entirety, with only the omission of a repeat in the first movement.

[edit] Music

[edit] Scoring

The symphony is scored for full orchestra with 3 flutes (the 3rd doubling on piccolo), 3 oboes (the 3rd doubling on cor anglais), 2 clarinets and bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, snare drum, bass drum, timpani, cymbals, glockenspiel and strings

[edit] Movements

The symphony is in four movements:

Largo - Allegro moderato
Allegro molto
Adagio
Allegro vivace

The symphony consists of a dramatic sequence that is identified with Russian symphonic tradition. The tradition, established by the Rachmaninoff’s Russian Romantic predecessors, places emphasis on a motif and an “unending and beautiful flow of melody” (e.g. Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5, and Balakirev's Symphony No. 2)

[edit] First movement

The first movement is brooding and mysterious; dramatically intense and “alternates between stormy conflict and serene vision.” The cellos and double basses introduce the melodic motto in the “slow…dense texture” of the Largo. In the Allegro moderato Rachmaninoff finishes the remainder of the movement in sonata form. Towards the end of the movement another theme emerges, this one in G Major, carried mostly by the strings. The piece ends with the same motif as the Largo in an “understated coda.”

[edit] Second movement

In the structure of the traditional Russian romantic symphony, the scherzo precedes the slow movement (est. by Borodin and Balakirev). Rachmaninoff’s second movement scherzo is “vigorous to the point of abandon.” The first motif is carried out largely by the horn section. There is a second motif that relates to the first movement, becoming the “motto” motif for the whole work. The brass chorale at the end of the scherzo is chilling and it derives from the Dies irae, a Gregorian chant for the dead that haunts many of Rachmaninoff’s works and held great influence over his creative life (i.e. Isle of the Dead and Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini.)

[edit] Third movement

This theme, again related to the work’s motif, is again based on the Dies irae and sings through primarily in the first violin in an extremely Romantic-style melody, echoed by a solo clarinet and the oboe section. The symphony reaches its emotional climax in this movement, after an interlude of English horn and violin solo passages followed by a clarinet reverie that is reminiscent of the first movement, further developing the work’s “motto.” At the end of the Adagio, the motif is heard in its original form which again links it back to the first movement.

[edit] Fourth movement

In the Russian symphonic tradition, the motifs and themes of the preceding movements are collectively “summed-up” in the finale. The final movement is grand and sweeping, set in sonata form, carrying with it the essence of the work. There are several ideas present in the Finale: the opening triplet theme, the marching melody, and the return to the Romantic string melody of the third movement.