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Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943)

Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27

1. Largo Allegro moderato2. Allegro molto3. Adagio4. Allegro vivaceSergei Rachmaninoff was one of the finest pianists of his day, and as a composer, the

last great representative of Russian late Romanticism. Early influences of

Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov soon gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom of

Rachmaninoff, with a pronounced lyrical quality, expressive breadth, structural

ingenuity and a palette of rich, distinctive orchestral colours. Unexpectedly, the

premiere of his Symphony No. 1 in 1897 turned out a huge disaster. (Rachmaninoff

commented that it was Glazunov who conducted badly that ruined his symphony) . A

period of severe depression lasted three years, that during which Rachmaninoff wrote

virtually no music. In 1900, Rachmaninoff began a course of hypnotherapy. Although

his writers block was overcome quickly, he had not regained the confident as a

symphonist until the success of his Symphony No. 2 in E minor, where the premiere

was conducted by the composer himself in 1908.

The symphony is enveloped by the shadow of his previous symphonic failure. It starts

with a brooding introduction by cellos and double basses, depicting an eve of the

forthcoming storm, opening the curtain of the real life story of Rachmaninoff himself.

The storm arrives as soon as the introduction ends, and subsided with contrasting

expansive and passionate serene sections by strings in between. The movement ends

with a violent climax.

The 2nd movement is vigorous to the point of abandon, marked by a fierce horn

section solo with greatest energy provided by strings rhythms. A free clarinet solo

brings the orchestra into a dream, however the dream is temporary and the reality

returns with the same force shortly. We can notice an obvious quote of the haunting

Gregorian chant Dies Irae played by the brass section before the end of the

movement, which tells us that, the shadow has not dispersed.

The 3rd

movement starts with an extremely romantic theme by violin, and followed by

a solo clarinet singing a reverie. This movement is an outburst of emotion, shimmers

with a unique orchestral colour of Rachmaninoff. Although it is beautiful as a dream,

deep inside there is unspoken grief that pestered the composer. After some struggles in

the composers mind, the movement arrives at a peaceful conclusion and ends the

thoughts with a deep breath.

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The finale sums up all the motifs and themes of the work as in Russian symphonic

tradition. It starts with an ecstatic Russian dance and continues throughout the whole

movement. Although there are passages of previous movements interspersed, these

are passed memories and the overall optimistic mood is not affected. The whole

symphony ends with highest spirit.

The symphony has been subjected to numerous revisions due to its length, and a cut

version will be performed tonight.