Symphony No. 2 (Strauss)
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The Symphony No. 2 in F minor was written by
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
between 1883 and 1884. It is sometimes referred to as just Symphony in F minor. He gave it the
Opus number In music, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's publication of that work. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among ...
12, and it also appears in other catalogues as TrV 126 and Hanstein A.I.2. It is not listed in von Asow's catalog.


History

The symphony was premiered by Theodore Thomas conducting 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 ...
on 13 December 1884. The European premiere, with Strauss himself conducting, took place in October 1885 (on the same night he was the soloist in
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's Piano Concerto No. 24, K. 491, with his own cadenza). In 1887 he played it again with the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...
. The work has been performed only once at the BBC Proms, in the 1905 season on 1 September at the Queen's Hall with
Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundr ...
conducting the New Queens Hall Orchestra.


Instrumentation

The
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 ...
is written for a standard orchestra consisting of 2
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
s, 2
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
s, 2
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
s in B-flat, 2
bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
s, 4
horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...
s in F, 2
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
s in F and C, 3
trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
s,
tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...
,
timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
, and strings.


Structure

The symphony is in the usual four movements, though the scherzo and slow movement are switched from their usual positions, as in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9: # ''Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso'',
F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...
, 2/4 # ''Scherzo: Presto'',
A-flat major A-flat major is a major scale based on A♭ (musical note), A, with the pitches A, B♭ (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, F (musical note), F, and G (musical note), G. Its key signature has fou ...
, 3/4 with Trio in
C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...
# ''Andante cantabile'',
C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...
, 3/8 # ''Finale: Allegro assai, molto appassionato'',
F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...
switching to
F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...
,
cut time ''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C) with a vertical line through it, which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian for "on the breve", originally meaning tha ...
The first movement is a
sonata form The sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement form) is a musical form, musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of t ...
allegro with three themes. The ways Strauss develops his material in this symphony owes much to Beethoven's middle period music, in particular "the slow movement of the Seventh Symphony (in the chromatically inflected stepwise descent at mm. 139—43 of the first movement), the development of the '' Eroica'', first movement (repeated tutti pounding of a single dissonance, in movement one, mm. 193—99), and the ''Egmont Overture'', this time in the same key (intensification through repetition of rising motive over dominant harmony, in movement four, mm. 346—49)." The recapitulation section is unusual in that it modulates to
A-flat major A-flat major is a major scale based on A♭ (musical note), A, with the pitches A, B♭ (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, F (musical note), F, and G (musical note), G. Its key signature has fou ...
for the second subject group rather than staying in tonic or going to the parallel major; modulating to the mediant major in a minor-key sonata form movement is typically expected in the exposition. The scherzo was successful and had to be repeated both times Strauss conducted the symphony in Milan in 1887. A transitional brass motif from the first movement intrudes in the lyricism of the slow movement. The main theme of the fourth movement is "an agitated low-string melody rising beneath tremolo and sounding very much like Bruckner." Near the end, about halfway between rehearsal letters T and U, Strauss recalls themes from the previous three movements, though the Andante is recalled second and the Scherzo third. Bruckner's Symphony No. 3, in its 1873 version, also recalls themes from the previous movements in the finale at an analogous point.


Reception

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...
's initial reaction to the piece was two words: "ganz hübsch" ("quite nice"). Later he elaborated his advice, encouraging Strauss to "take a good look at Schubert's dances," to guard against "thematic irrelevances," and that there "is no point in this piling up of many themes which are only contrasted rhythmically on a single triad."
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
's Concerto for Orchestra contains "an interesting resemblance between a canon for trumpets and horns in three pairs a quaver apart in the slow movement and the canon for brass in the first movement," something which was first noticed by Theodore Bloomfield. Although Strauss's musical style moved on from his second symphony, he did occasionally program it later in his life, for example conducting it on 28 February 1899 in Heidelberg, and again on 29 January 1903 with the
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, established in 1888 at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). It is considered one of the world's leading orchestras. It was known as the Concertgebouw Orchestra u ...
in Amsterdam. On 5 November 1935, he also made a radio broadcast with the
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has a ...
.Trenner, page 566 Strauss recorded some of his own compositions, but this symphony was not among them and the 1935 radio broadcast recording is currently lost. The few conductors to record this symphony are Michael Halasz,
Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...
,
Karl Anton Rickenbacher Karl Anton Rickenbacher (20 May 1940 – 28 February 2014) was a Swiss conductor. Born in Basel, Rickenbacher studied at the Berlin Conservatory with Herbert von Karajan. He took part in master classes with Pierre Boulez. He was an assistant ...
, Hiroshi Wakasugi and Sebastian Weigle. A version for
piano duet According to the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', there are two kinds of piano duet: " ieces of musicfor two players at one instrument, and those in which each of the two pianists has an instrument to themselves." In American usage th ...
has also been recorded.


External links

*


References

;General sources * Bloomfield, Theodore (1974). "Richard Strauss's Symphony in F minor" March ''Music and Musicians'' * Del Mar, Norman (1962). London ''Richard Strauss: A Critical Commentary on his Life and Works'' Barrie and Rockliff * Inoue, Satsuki (1993). Denon CO-75284 Thompson (translator) Robin. Nippon Columbia Co. Ltd. Japan * Jefferson, Alan (1975). London ''Richard Strauss'' Macmillan London Limited * Kennedy, Michael (1999). Cambridge ''Richard Strauss: Man, Musician, Enigma'' Cambridge University Press * Schuh, Willi (1982). Cambridge ''Richard Strauss: a chronicle of the early years 1864—1898'' Cambridge University Press. Whittall (translator) Mary. * Trenner, Franz (2003) "Richard Strauss Chronik", Verlag Dr Richard Strauss Gmbh, Wien, . * Youmans, Charles (2005). Bloomington and Indianapolis ''Richard Strauss's Orchestral Music and the German Intellectual Tradition: The Philosophical Roots of Musical Modernism'' Indiana University Press {{authority control Symphonies by Richard Strauss Romantic symphonies 1884 compositions Compositions in F minor