The Symphony No. 2 is a three-movement

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

by the American composer

Stephen Albert Stephen Joel Albert (6 February 1941 – 27 December 1992) was an American composer. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning Symphony No. 1 (Albert), Symphony No. 1 ''RiverRun'' (1983) and his Cello Concerto (Albert), Cello Concerto (19 ...

. The work was commissioned by the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

for their sesquicentennial anniversary. However, the piece had to be completed posthumously by the composer

Sebastian Currier Sebastian Currier (born March 16, 1959) is an American composer of music for chamber groups and orchestras. He was also a professor of music at Columbia University from 1999 to 2007. Life Currier was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and was ra ...

after Albert died suddenly in a car crash on December 27, 1992. The first performance took place November 10, 1994 with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Hugh Wolff. Albert's previous Symphony No. 1 ''RiverRun'' had won the

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted i ...

in 1985.

Composition

Structure

The symphony has a duration of approximately thirty minutes and is composed in three movements: #Allegro #Adagio #Allegro

Currier's contribution

Fellow composer and music critic Steve Schwartz wrote about the work:

Reception

In reviewing the work, Schwartz compared the piece favorably to Albert's Symphony No. 1, saying, "Albert resorts to ostinatos less and concentrates on counterpoint more." Schwartz added, "The symphony runs tighter than its sibling, with an increase of power, as well as clearer, with a corresponding jump in tension."

References

2 1992 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra Music commissioned by the New York Philharmonic

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

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