Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73.
I. Allegro non troppo (D major)
II. Adagio non troppo (B major) 15:05
III. Allegretto grazioso (quasi andantino) (G major) 24:02
IV. Allegro con spirito (D major) 29:22
Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink
The Second Symphony was composed in the summer of 1877 during a visit to Pörtschach am Wörthersee, a town in the Austrian province of Carinthia. Its composition was brief in comparison with the fifteen years it took Brahms to complete his First Symphony. The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings.
The cheery and almost pastoral mood of the symphony often invite comparisons with Beethoven's Sixth Symphony[citation needed], but perhaps mischievously Brahms wrote to his publisher on November 22, 1877, that the symphony "is so melancholy that you will not be able to bear it. I have never written anything so sad, and the score must come out in mourning."
The premiere was given on December 30, 1877 in Vienna under the direction of Hans Richter.
Arranger:
Otto Singer II (1863-1931)
Publisher Info.:
Symphonien für Klavier zu 2 Händen (pp.45-85)
Leipzig: Edition Peters, No.3934, n.d.(ca.1926). Plate 10441
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