The symphony #2 by Schumann belongs to the special set of musical works that I performed when I was a member of orchestras in Minneapolis, MN, Denver, CO, and San Jose, CA. When one rehearses symphonies, you learn them thoroughly and the music seems to remain with you for ever.
Schumann‘s Second Symphony began to take shape at the end of 1845, shortly after his recovery from a nervous breakdown. He made a comment then to Felix Mendelssohn, “drums and trumpets have been sounding in my mind for some time now…”
On his doctor’s advice, the composer and his wife, Clara, moved to Dresden, a quieter, more conservative city.
The “drums and trumpets” referred to earlier serve as the motto-fanfare that opens the Symphony and reappears near the end of it. What follows is a nice scherzo, and a yearning, ecstatic adagio which represents one of my great favorites. The symphony ends with a triumphant finale.
Listen carefully now and be delighted when the slow movement arrives:
