Dvořák: Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 4, B 12 (with Score)

Antonín Dvořák:
Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 4, B 12 (with Score)
Composed: 1 August - 9 October 1865 (revision 1887)
Conductor: István Kertész
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra

00:00 1. Allegro con moto (B-flat major)
16:32 2. Poco adagio (G minor)
30:41 3. Scherzo: Allegro con brio (B-flat major - A major)
43:17 4. Finale: Allegro con fuoco (B-flat major)

Dvořák began writing his second symphony a mere four months after completing his first symphony. The two works have much in common: Symphony No. 2 is also typical for its promising invention, betraying the potential of an ingenious master of melody; at the same time, however, particularly in the outer movements, it suffers from being overly turgid. Lack of experience with this challenging musical form meant that, at this early stage in his career, the composer’s creative imagination was much more powerful than his ability to make practical use of the thematic material in a convincing way. The complex and lengthy passages in the individual movements thus tend to lose their clarity for the audience. While the classical symphonic model uses a sonata-form structure in the first movement constructed from two or three distinct themes, the first movement of Dvořák’s second symphony contains as many as seven themes, thus the piece in this case is more akin to a rhapsody, fantasia or symphonic poem. Moreover, the work appeared at a time Dvořák’s interest in Wagner was nearing its peak, a fact reflected in the way he used the thematic material, incorporating irregular, “unending” melodies. Dvořák’s second symphony thus gives less indication of the composer’s subsequent characteristic style than his previous symphony in C minor. An exception might be made in the case of the second movement which, in its broadly arching melody, anticipates the masterful Adagios to come. Compared with the heroic mood of the first symphony, one might speak of the second symphony more in terms of pastoral tones and a generally more lyrical expression.

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