Symphony no. 2 in E major op. 6

Composed between January 1892 and September 1893, this symphony was premiered in Nancy on 9 February 1896 under the baton of Guy Ropartz. The conductor, one of Magnard’s close friends, advised him to make revisions, which he carried out during the summer and autumn of the same year. The second movement, in particular, originally entitled Fugues et Danses, discarded its contrapuntal ideas and was completely recomposed. These corrections were well-chosen, judging by the reaction of the L’Intransigeant: after attending the Paris concert wholly devoted to Magnard’s music on 14 May 1899, conducted by the composer himself, the critic wrote: “The two parts of the Second Symphony entitled ‘Danses’ and ‘Chant varié’ seemed to us to be of unquestionable originality.” Probably started before the first performance of Symphony No. 1, this new orchestral work displays clear progress, which can be seen immediately in the originality of the titles of the movements. It demonstrates the composer’s liking for rhythmically dynamic fast movements, passionate lyricism (although limited to fairly short episodes), counterpoint often based on polymelody, and the opposition of highly contrasting thematic elements. Also striking are the idiosyncratic melodic and harmonic inflections (the tritone shading in the Ouverture), and the illusion of several superimposed tempi when a melody with long note values is heard over the varied repetition of short fast phrases (Danses). Magnard’s only symphony to begin in a major key, the Symphony No. 2 is also his brightest, most cheerful orchestral work.