Symphony No.2 in E minor - Havergal Brian

Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins. I - Adagio solenne - Allegro assai: 0:00 II - Andante sostenuto e espressivo molto: 10:51 III - Scherzo. Allegro assai: 24:46 IV - Lento maestoso e mesto: 30:34 Brian’s Symphony No.2 was composed between 1930-1. It was premiered in May 1973, performed by the Kensington Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leslie Head. The work is based on the tragedy of Goethe “Götz von Berlichingen“. It presents the story of a German knight who became a bandit during the sixteenth century. Goethe considered his actions as a German national revolt against the authority exercised by the Emperor and the Church, in the first half of the century. The first movement begins dramatically. Over a pianissimo of the timpani, the basses of the strings present a three note motif, followed by others that derive from it. The tonality is not clearly defined, using the twelve notes of the chromatic scale. The two main themes are comple