Symphony No. 2 (Saint-Saëns)

Symphony No. 2 in A minor, Op. 55, is an orchestral work composed by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1859.

History

Saint-Saëns wrote a total of five symphonies, three of which are numbered: the 'first' (actually his second), this one (which is actually his fourth), and his famous 'third' (actually his fifth), known as the "Organ Symphony." In addition to these, he composed a Symphony in A major at the age of 15, as well as one in F major entitled Urbs Roma ("City of Rome") in 1857.

Saint-Saëns composed this symphony at the age of 24. He would not return to the symphony as a musical form until 27 years later, with his Organ Symphony.

Dedicated to the violinist, pianist, and conductor Jules Pasdeloup, it was premiered on 20 February 1859, in Leipzig.

Structure

The symphony consists of four movements:

  1. Adagio marcato – Allegro appassionato
  2. Adagio
  3. Scherzo: Presto
  4. Prestissimo

A typical performance takes a little over 20 minutes; the work is concise and dense, with a fugal first movement and a scherzo without repeats.[1]

Recordings

Further reading

References

  1. ^ "Symphonie", in Joël-Marie Fauquet (ed.), Dictionnaire de la musique en France au XIXe siècle, Fayard, 2003, xviii-1406 (ISBN 2-213-59316-7, OCLC 936927646, BNF 39052242), p. 1190.


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