Brahms: Symphony No. 2 & Academic Festival Overture (Live)

Featuring

Herbert Blomstedt
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Johannes Brahms

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Critical Reception

Brahms's Second Symphony was unanimously welcomed by critics, performers, and audiences at its premiere on December 30, 1877, in Vienna.

Composition History

Brahms composed the Academic Festival Overture as a musical thank you for receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Breslau in 1879.

Compositional Technique

Brahms developed the principle of an ever-present motivic cell, a rotating minor-second motive, which generates the organic growth of the entire Second Symphony.

Composition History

Brahms composed his Second Symphony in just a few weeks during the summer and autumn of 1877, a stark contrast to the nearly fifteen years it took to compose his First Symphony.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded live at the Gewandhaus, Leipzig, in October 2019, featuring the Gewandhausorchester conducted by Herbert Blomstedt.

Compositional Technique

The Academic Festival Overture incorporates four German student songs, including 'Gaudeamus igitur,' which Brahms wove into the composition.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Despite its outwardly cheerful and idyllic tone, Brahms referred to his Second Symphony as a 'new lovely monster' and mentioned the 'necessary shadow over the cheerful symphony,' suggesting a hidden melancholy.