Symphony No. 2 (Elgar)

[2]The more personal nature of this work, however, is clear in a letter to friend and close correspondent Alice Stuart-Wortley, in which Elgar states: I have written out my soul in the concerto, Symphony No.

But withal there is a great mass of fluctuating material which might fit into the work as it developed in his mind to finality – for it had been created in the same "oven" which had cast them all.

2 date back to 1903, a letter from October of that year indicating an idea for a symphony in E-flat major to be dedicated to his friend and conductor Hans Richter.

[5] Rejected ideas from the latter work and earlier sketches joined the material Elgar began developing in late 1910 to complete the piece.

[6] The symphony's thematic material, like much of Elgar's work, consists of short, closely interrelated motives which he develops via repetition, sequential techniques, and subtle cross references.

Robert Meikle draws attention to the Mahlerian treatment of the material in the last movement, as well as likenesses to Brahms's A German Requiem.

[11] The motive in the first violins at rehearsal 1 of the first movement, reappearing in both the rondo and the finale, resembles both Elgar's own so-called "Judgment" theme from The Dream of Gerontius and the Dies irae.

[14] Specifically, Gimbel points out the resemblance of the motive on the last three beats of m. 2 of the first movement and the "Abgesang" of Walther's Prize Song from Die Meistersinger,[15] thus linking the trials of the opera's hero to Elgar's desire to assert his independence as an artist.

The opening contains wide intervals in the strings and upper winds with upward leaps, thus allowing Elgar to create much expression and passion.

The brevity of this thematic material does not leave the listener feeling exhausted, as Elgar ties them up by closely relating each, resulting in a lengthy flowing development at rehearsal 24.

The opening melody of the development is made up of eerie diatonic and chromatic scales and is rather ambiguous, culminating in the appearance of what Elgar called the "ghost" motive in the violins at rehearsal 24.

Elgar quickly thickens out the score and fills it with punctuating accents and six bars of downward leaps into the main theme, thus beginning the transition back into the primary material.

Many, including Michael Kennedy, hold the belief that it is also a more personal expression of Elgar's grief, as he had lost close friends August Johannes Jaeger and Alfred Edward Rodewald around the time he was working on the symphony.

[21] The march tread of the movement is suggested beginning at bar 8 by a series of throbbing chords on beats two and four, pulsing in the string and drum accompaniment under the grave winds and brass melody.

Then, as if Elgar had lost his sense of restraint, we hear a build-up of dynamic, an increase in tempo, and more imaginative scoring leading to a triumphant F major climax in the brass, marked "Nobilmente e semplice" (rehearsal 76).

The primary theme is now heard against a new countersubject in the oboe, resembling a solo lament of which Elgar, conducting, said: I want you to imagine a great crowd of silent people, watching the passing of a beloved sovereign.

[24] Featuring a recurring two sixteenth–eighth note rhythm and a sprightly character, it is traded between strings and woodwinds in quick successive units, maintaining a sense of rhythmic unrest through offbeat accompaniment patterns and hemiolas.

This action begins to intensify at rehearsal 118, with the return of the "ghost" motive from the first movement and the hammering of eighth notes in timpani, brass, high winds, and tambourine.

The climax of the section arrives at rehearsal 149 when the brass and percussion play a bar evoking the main theme and the trumpet hits a high B that rings out over the entire orchestra.

This could be in part because a quiet ending did not stir the audience into a wild show of appreciation but rather a more contemplative one, and in fact, the Daily Mail gave it a warm review, stating, "the symphony was received with unhesitating and most cordial warmth".

It was officially dedicated to Edward VII, who died in May 1910, but many scholars nonetheless believe his close friend Alice Stuart Wortley, with whom he was rumoured to have a romantic liaison, served as inspiration.

During this time, Elgar visited Venice where he admired St. Mark's Basilica and its square, which, he later explained, inspired the opening of the Larghetto movement.

1 in 1908 was received enthusiastically by an exuberant audience and press; Elgar's name was linked with the likes of Beethoven and Brahms, and the work was performed 82 times over the following year.

"[32] Reasons for this perceived waning of interest could include the performance of The Dream of Gerontius and the Violin Concerto earlier the same week, the presence of two other composer-conductor premieres on the programme, or the high ticket prices.

The emotional disconnect between an audience eager for the coronation of a new monarch and a brooding symphony in mournful commemoration of the late king may have also affected the reaction.

The American premiere in Cincinnati on 24 and 25 November by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski[38] was not well received, and the American correspondent of The Times had this to say of a New York performance on 16 December: "One cannot listen to even the most eloquent pleading for nearly an hour without fatigue, and that was the first impression this music made – of restless, unpitying earnestness...not only is no concession made to the sensuously pleasing, but little regard is paid to the psychological need for contrast, for relief.

[40] A concert in March 1924, inspired the Times critic to remark upon the second movement: "one wondered whether any nobler or more beautiful funeral music has been written than this, which unrolls like some vast tapestry richly woven of purple and crimson threads.

"[41] Adrian Boult's rendering of the piece with the London Symphony Orchestra on 16 March 1920 was received with "frantic enthusiasm,"[42] and stirred Elgar to declare, "I feel that my reputation in the future is safe in your hands.

The non-British conductors who have recorded the work in the studio (they include Sir Georg Solti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Bernard Haitink, André Previn, Daniel Barenboim and Leonard Slatkin) have all done so with one of the London orchestras.