Symphony No. 2 (Hanson)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 2 in D-flat major, Opus 30, W45, was written by Howard Hanson
on commission from Serge Koussevitsky for the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
in 1930, and published by Carl Fischer Music
.
The symphony
, written for a standard orchestra consisting of piccolo
, 2 flute
s, 2 oboe
s, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon
, English horn, 2 clarinet
s in B-flat, 4 horn
s in F, 3 trumpet
s in C, 3 trombone
s, tuba
, timpani
, snare drum
, cymbals, harp
and strings, was premiered by Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra on November 28, 1930. Soon after Arturo Toscanini
played it with the New York Philharmonic
. Hanson himself has conducted and recorded the work with the Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra
. Other conductors include Erich Kunzel
, Sir Neville Marriner, Gerard Schwarz
, but most performances today are by youth and amateur orchestras. "The Second Symphony by Howard Hanson, the Third by Robert Ward
and the Third
of Roy Harris
are within the capabilities of our [American] community orchestras."
The symphony is in three movements, with much thematic material shared among the movements.
The "lyrical, haunting second theme" of the first movement has become known in Michigan as the "Interlochen theme." It reappears "with greater emphasis" in the following two movements. The slow movement was arranged for concert band by Norman Goldberg and in this form was also published by Carl Fischer.
Hanson considered himself a "perfect fifth composer" or a "major third composer," but in this symphony, it is the perfect fourth
"that plays a prominent part throughout the symphony in both melody and harmony." Despite the abundance of triplets, the Bruckner rhythm
occurs only in a few spots, mainly in the horns' and trumpets' parts; the others are in the timpani in the first movement, and at the end of a longer rhythmical motif in the finale.
While Hanson is deemed to have broken new ground in the symphony, he "produced a popular concert work which is the epitome of the twentieth-century symphony that could have been written by an American." Virgil Thomson
, a contemporary of Hanson's opined of Hanson's music in general that "I have never yet found in any work of his a single phrase or turn of harmony that did not sound familiar," and of the symphony specifically "it is as standardized in expression as it is eclectic in style. Not a surprise from beginning to end, nor any adventure."
Hanson was displeased the theme was used for the closing credits of Alien
without his permission, but decided not to fight it in court. More positively, John Williams
used the symphony as a model for his music for E. T.
Howard Hanson
Howard Harold Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music...
on commission from Serge Koussevitsky for the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
in 1930, and published by Carl Fischer Music
Carl Fischer Music
Carl Fischer Music is a major publisher of sheet music based in New York City that has been in business since 1872. As one of the few remaining family-owned music publishers, it supplies educational materials to professional and beginning musicians of all ages, as well as new music works.Notable...
.
The symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, written for a standard orchestra consisting of piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
, 2 flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon
Contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
, English horn, 2 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in B-flat, 4 horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s in F, 3 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s in C, 3 trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
, cymbals, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
and strings, was premiered by Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra on November 28, 1930. Soon after Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
played it with the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
. Hanson himself has conducted and recorded the work with the Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, Monroe County, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music....
. Other conductors include Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel, Jr. was an American orchestra conductor. Called the "Prince of Pops" by the Chicago Tribune, he performed with a number of leading pops and symphony orchestras, especially the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra , which he led for over 44 years.-Early life and career:Kunzel was born to...
, Sir Neville Marriner, Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz is an American conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011.In 2007 Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as principal conductor since 2005...
, but most performances today are by youth and amateur orchestras. "The Second Symphony by Howard Hanson, the Third by Robert Ward
Robert Ward
Robert Ward is an American composer.-Early work and education:Ward was one of five children of the owner of a moving and storage company. He sang in church choirs and local opera theaters when he was a boy. His earliest extant compositions date to 1934, at a time he was attending John Adams High...
and the Third
Symphony No. 3 (Harris)
Roy Harris's Symphony No. 3 is a work written in 1939 and premiered by the conductor Serge Koussevitzky.Harris wrote this symphony on a commission from Hans Kindler but he gave it to Serge Koussevitzky instead...
of Roy Harris
Roy Harris
Roy Ellsworth Harris , was an American composer. He wrote much music on American subjects, becoming best known for his Symphony No...
are within the capabilities of our [American] community orchestras."
The symphony is in three movements, with much thematic material shared among the movements.
- Adagio ( = 50) — Allegro moderato ( = 100) — Lento ( = 56) molto espressivo — Piu mosso — Meno mosso ( = 72) — Tranquillo — Molto piu mosso ( = 112) — Animato — Molto meno mosso ( = 80) — Animato ( = 112) — Meno mosso ( = 96) — Ancora meno mosso — Molto meno mosso
- Andante con tenerezza
- Allegro con brio — Molto meno mosso — Piu mosso — Animato — Largamente
The "lyrical, haunting second theme" of the first movement has become known in Michigan as the "Interlochen theme." It reappears "with greater emphasis" in the following two movements. The slow movement was arranged for concert band by Norman Goldberg and in this form was also published by Carl Fischer.
Hanson considered himself a "perfect fifth composer" or a "major third composer," but in this symphony, it is the perfect fourth
Perfect fourth
In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...
"that plays a prominent part throughout the symphony in both melody and harmony." Despite the abundance of triplets, the Bruckner rhythm
Bruckner rhythm
The Bruckner rhythm is a 2 + 3 or 3 + 2 rhythm in Anton Bruckner's symphonic music, where it occurs prevalently, and in many different, varied ways.One example is in the main theme of the first movement of his Symphony No...
occurs only in a few spots, mainly in the horns' and trumpets' parts; the others are in the timpani in the first movement, and at the end of a longer rhythmical motif in the finale.
While Hanson is deemed to have broken new ground in the symphony, he "produced a popular concert work which is the epitome of the twentieth-century symphony that could have been written by an American." Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...
, a contemporary of Hanson's opined of Hanson's music in general that "I have never yet found in any work of his a single phrase or turn of harmony that did not sound familiar," and of the symphony specifically "it is as standardized in expression as it is eclectic in style. Not a surprise from beginning to end, nor any adventure."
Hanson was displeased the theme was used for the closing credits of Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
without his permission, but decided not to fight it in court. More positively, John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
used the symphony as a model for his music for E. T.