# Symphony No. 2 (Brian)

The Symphony No. 2 in E minor is a symphony composed by Havergal Brian between 1930–31. It was actually his third before he reorganized his catalogue in 1967. The work was inspired by Goethe's drama Götz von Berlichingen. It was originally dedicated to Richard Strauss, but in 1972 he changed it to his then recently deceased daughter Elfreda Brian. While it appears to be a traditional, four-movement symphony in the German postromantic tradition, Brian greatly deviates from convention and his personal approach to the symphonic discourse only shares superficial elements with other composers.

## Composition

It was begun shortly after finishing editing the massive and ambitious Gothic Symphony, as well as composing the burlesque opera The Tigers. The piece was sketched between June and September 1930, the full score being written and orchestrated between October 1930 and April 1931. Hoping for a premiere, it was sent to Adrian Boult in October 1931, who was then Director of Music at the BBC. After a rehearsal read-through, it was rejected on November 4. The work was then shelved for over fifty years, Brian not pursuing for a premiere or to stir further interest in the piece. The score was assigned for publication by Cranz and Co. in 1932, but it was cancelled the following year. The work was finally published in 1949 by Schott and Co.
The symphony was not premiered until six months after Brian's death, on 19 May 1973 at the Dome in Brighton. It was performed by the Kensington Symphony Orchestra under Leslie Head, reinforced with a large number of amateur musicians. The first completely professional performance was realised on 9 March 1979, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra directed by Sir Charles Mackerras, played and recorded as part of a broadcast at the BBC Maida Vale Studios. Ever since then the piece as been performed a few times, being overshadowed by the Gothic. In a letter to Robert Simpson, Brian described the work as "…in the orthodox four movements — but very unorthodox inside. The slow movement 'had' me and I thought I could never leave it. The finale is a slow Rondo — rather an Irish expression".

## Inspiration

Throughout his life, Brian would hold contradicting views on his music and its supposedly extramusical content, and the second symphony reflects such opposing drives between programmatic music and absolute music. Initially, Brian conceived the symphony as almost programmatic in nature, reflecting multiple aspects of the life of the main character Götz von Berlichingen. According to Reginald Nettel, "the four movements are associated in the composer's mind with various aspects of the character of Götz. The first, his resolution; the second, his domestic piety and love of his children; the third, the smell of battle; and the fourth, his death".
From this initial conception, which heavily resembles Liszt's Faust Symphony or even Sibelius' Kullervo, Brian would go on to attempt to deny any extramusical programme and even influence from the play. However, he contradicted himself when he was interviewed by the CBC Radio in 1969, during which he referred to Symphony No. 2 as "the Götz von Berlichingen", and mentioned showing the finale to Ernest Newman and explaining that it depicted the end of the life of Götz. Brian also referred to the piece as his "Battle Symphony", as well as "Little Symphony" to distinguish it from the Gothic. The composer's last comment on the subject was contained in a letter written to Graham Hatton in 1972, the same year of his death. In it, he claimed he had in mind "Man in his cosmic loneliness: ambition, loves, battles, death".
According to music critic Malcolm MacDonald, Brian’s reasons for denying this connection and for wishing his work to be viewed as "pure music" were based on "his anxiety lest those works with a known inspiration in literature be vulnerable to facile misinterpretation from people who look no further in music than for a programme. Brian never wrote programme music in that sense". He clasifies the work in a series of symphonies inspired by literature, with programmatic elements that gradually diluted overtime during composition. In particular, Goethe's Faust was one of the main inspirations for the Gothic Symphony, and the writer's own life was the stimulus behind the Symphony No. 7 in C major. MacDonald also suggests an identification of the composer with heroic figures of both the past and mythology, specially those of a mature age such as Faust, Oedipus or Götz himself.

## Instrumentation

While not requiring forces as tremendously large as the Gothic Symphony, the instrumentation of the second is still very large and even augmented regarding the number of some instruments.
Strings
    2 harps
    strings
Woodwinds
    4 flutes (2 doubling piccolos)
    2 oboes (2 doubling cor anglaises)
    4 clarinets (2 doubling bass clarinets)
    4 bassoons (1 doubling contrabassoon)
Brass
    16 horns (6 in movements I and II, 16 in III and 8 in IV)
    4 trumpets
    4 tenor trombones
    2 tubas
Percussion
    3 sets of timpani
    glockenspiel
    xylophone
    bass drum
    3 snare drums
    cymbals
    tam-tam
    bell in F
Keyboards
    organ (only movements III and IV)
    2 pianos (only movements III and IV)
    celesta

## Form

The symphony is divided in four movements linked in pairs of two, an approach reminiscent of Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony.
       I. Adagio solenne – allegro assai – attacca
       II. Andante sostenuto e espressivo molto
       III. Scherzo. Allegro assai – attacca
       IV. Lento maestoso e mesto
The language of the symphony is modern in sound, although not quite avant-garde. The harmonic scheme of the work is diffuse, and its tonal centres are unstable and distant, bringing tonality nearly to its limits. The harmonic language is reminiscent of Sibelius, particularly his Fourth Symphony. Like Sibelius, Brian makes extensive use of the tritone, which is present in almost every major theme in the piece and serves as basis for the whole symphony. Other's composers, such as Richard Wagner and Arnold Schoenberg had used the tritone as a form of "stable" harmony. The formal structure of the work is also more free, as we find no traditional use of Sonata form nor the usual tonal conflicts. The ensuing description lays aside all programmatic considerations and offers a purely musical analysis.

### Adagio solenne – allegro assai

The first movement is broadly described to be in sonata form by both Saxby and MacDonald, although the latter notes its substantial deviations from the norm. It begins with a slow introduction, a pianissimo timpani roll is soon joined by woodwinds in a fifth chord in E. Underneath cellos and basses introduce a heavily chromatic theme through pizzicati, which contains several motives and ideas that will be developed later on. Most notably the aforementioned tritone contained in the notes B-A#-F. This introduction then progresses as a kind of passacaglia, which grows more restless and tense as it leads to the main allegro. The main subject is passionate and highly unstable, subdivided in three themes that near constantly modulate from the A minor starting point. Strings then expose the more lyrical second subject in E major, which is also subdivided in three themes. Fast string figures juxtaposed with slow woodwind chords lead to the next section. The development of the material is short but complex, marked by the striking use of counterpoint and polytonality. It initially focuses on the main subject before being interrupted by an eerie passage, with the introduction theme reappearing on flute, oboe, glockenspiel and harp. This abrupt contrast leads into the development of the second subject, beginning with a solo from the cello. The material is then recapitulated with varied orchestrations. The music then reaches an intensely dissonant and dramatic polyphonic climax. It ends with a slow fade-out coda that links with the next movement, with a permutation of the tritone appearing ominously on the brass. Saxby points on the influence of Edward Elgar in Brian's music, particularly of his Symphony No. 2 in E-flat major.

### Andante sostenuto e espressivo molto

The second movement is described as the most free in form by MacDonald and by Saxby as a loose rondo in the A–B–A'–C–A"–Coda Scheme. It opens with an expressive, almost funereal main theme exposed by solo Cor anglais, which passes to oboe supported by a chromatic woodwind counterpoint, creating a haunting atmosphere that remains for the whole movement. This material is continuously transformed in a way reminiscent of Brahms' Developing variation technique. After reaching a dissonant climax, a second theme (or episode) appears on woodwinds. It is interrupted by a menacing march episode, in which the tritone motive appears on the basses. It abruptly ends with a recapitulation of the second theme on clarinet over a richly scored accompaniment. The third theme (or episode) starts with dramatic trumpets and tubas fanfares, which combines a variation of the opening's main theme with motives from the first movement. It is followed by cadenza-like violin solo that grows into a polyphonic climax. A transition then leads to the biggest peak yet heard, in which fragments of all themes are combined. The main theme is then poignantly recapitulated by the cor anglais, leading to a fade-out coda. Saxby highlights the influence of Claude Debussy in the formal design of the andante, as well as Strauss and Schoenberg in the development procedures.

### Scherzo. Allegro assai

The third movement is also very free in form, described by MacDonald as an orchestral toccata and by Saxby as the very apotheosis of the ostinato. It begins with a figure on harp and muted violins and violas, followed by an ostinato on pianos and timpani. Horns then introduce a long-drawn hunting theme, tonally ambiguous and juxtaposed with the rhythmic ostinato figures that are gradually added. Unusually for a scherzo, we find no trio nor contrasting sections. Brian employs sixteen horns divided in four separate groups, each having different material and timbral qualities. This antiphonal unravelling of the theme and ostinati becomes increasingly complex and virtuosic, reaching a massive polytonal climax of the whole orchestra reinforced by the organ. A slow coda features a recapitulation of the theme by solo horn before the music fragments. A dissonant transition chord from woodwinds leads to the finale. MacDonald notes that sixteen horns are also employed by Wagner in both Tannhäuser and Lohengrin, as well by Strauss in his Alpine Symphony. On the other hand, Saxby points at the scherzo of the Gothic Symphony as a precedent.

### Lento maestoso e mesto

The fourth movement is generally described as a funereal march, structured as a slow rondo by both Brian and MacDonald, while Saxby suggests its form is closer to the Sonata rondo as found in some of Mahler's Symphonies. It opens with a menacing gesture from violas and cellos, which signals the start of each section of the movement. An expressive and poignant main theme is introduced by both clarinet and bass clarinet, taking the rhythm of a slow march. As most of the material of the symphony, it is also derived from the tritone motive. The funereal march then unfolds until reaching the first episode, in which brass and timpani lead to a tremendous climax. The march then continues, slowly transforming as it goes on. The second episode consists of an elegy for strings, full of an Elgarian nobility as it grows into a passionate climax. This in turn leads to the work's biggest climax, built on all this material. The main theme is then recapitulated by the clarinet. A fade-out coda again fragments the music into an E minor cadence. The work then ends with nearly the same 5th chord in which it had begun. MacDonalds mentions the movement's evocation of Wagner's Siegfried Funereal March from Götterdämmerung. Saxby also includes the funereal march from Beethoven's Eroica Symphony as a predecessor.

## Recordings

| Conductor | Orchestra | Recording Date | Formats | Labels |
| Sir Charles Mackerras (falsely credited as Ernest Weir) | BBC Symphony Orchestra (falsely credited as Dresden Symphony Orchestra) | 1979 | LP | Aries Records (Bootleg recording) |
| Anthony Rowe | Moscow Symphony Orchestra | 1996, released in 1998, rereleased in 2007 | CD / Digital | Marco Polo (1998) / Naxos Records (2007) |
| Martyn Brabbins | Royal Scottish National Orchestra | 2015, released 2016 | CD / Digital | Dutton Epoch |