Antonín Dvořák

Symphony No. 2 (Dvořák)

The Symphony No. 2 in B major, Op. 4, B. 12 was composed by Antonín Dvořák between August and October 1865. Dvořák sent the score to be bound, but could not pay the binder, who kept the score. A

Form#

The work is in four movements: Unusually, all of these movements begin with introductory material unrelated to the major theme. The introduction to the final movement contains a four-note motif that Dvorák would quote some thirty-five years later in his opera Rusalka. Musicologist David R. Beveridge has concluded that this theme owes its origins to Dvorák’s spurning by his pupil Josefína Čermáková, which occurred at approximately the time that Dvorák was writing this symphony and which the composer was prompted to recall by the plot of the opera. A typical performance of the work has a duration of about 50 minutes.

Instrumentation#

The work is scored for two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings.

External links#

Symphony No. 2 on a comprehensive Dvořák site
Symphony No. 2 Free Scores at the International Music Score Library Project.

Composer: Antonín Dvořák