The Symphony No. 2 is a three-movement

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 com ...

for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

by the American composer Stephen Albert. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for their sesquicentennial anniversary. However, the piece had to be completed posthumously by the composer Sebastian Currier after Albert died suddenly in a car crash on December 27, 1992. The first performance took place November 10, 1994 with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Hugh Wolff. Albert's previous Symphony No. 1 ''RiverRun'' had won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1985.

Composition

Structure

The symphony has a duration of approximately thirty minutes and is composed in three movements: #Allegro #Adagio #Allegro

Currier's contribution

Fellow composer and music critic Steve Schwartz wrote about the work:

Reception

In reviewing the work, Schwartz compared the piece favorably to Albert's Symphony No. 1, saying, "Albert resorts to ostinatos less and concentrates on counterpoint more." Schwartz added, "The symphony runs tighter than its sibling, with an increase of power, as well as clearer, with a corresponding jump in tension."

References

2 1992 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra Music commissioned by the New York Philharmonic

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

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