Charles ives children

The Second Symphony was written by Charles Ives between 1897 and 1902. It consists of five movements and lasts approximately 40 minutes.^[1]

Scoring

The piece is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, snare drum, bass drum and strings.

The piece departs from the conventional four-movement symphonic structure by the insertion of a slow Lento maestoso movement as an introduction to the Allegro molto vivace.

History and analysis

Although the work was composed during Ives's 20s, it was half a century before it was premiered, on February 22, 1951, in a New York Philharmonic concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein.^[2] The symphony was premiered to rapturous applause but Ives responded with ambivalence (he reportedly spat)—he did not attend the concert in person, but listened to a radio rebroadcast on March 4.^{[3] Charles ives.}