Programme Note:
This symphony has three movements. All three start with the same pulse (MM60), and the third movement also ends at this tempo. Both the rhythmic conflicts in the music and its rhythmic connections (changes to tempo within a movement) are related in the ratio 3:2. This ratio also expresses the interval of a fifth, which is throughout an important arrival point and is the music's final destination. These conflicts and changes are also associated with timbre: very often strings and brass are opposed, with wind and percussion acting as mediators.
The final movement is most concerned with conflicts. The opening idea announces this very simply with an opposition of two pentatonic modes (black and white notes on a keyboard), and this conflict remains unresolved at the end of the movement.
The third movement emphasises connections and resolutions. It is a set of variations on a chorale-like tune, which starts at the basic pulse of MM60 and shifts into gradually faster tempi until the final variation, a quick waltz, is moving at three times this speed. From here, the tempo shifts back to the opening pulse to present a lyrical version of the opening chorale tune combined with references to material from the first two movements.
Symphony No. 2 was commissioned by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and was first played by them in 1982.
Loading... Please wait...
