Symphony No.

2 (Penderecki)
Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki wrote his Sym- May 1, 1980.[2]
phony No. 2 during the winter of 197980. Sometimes referred to as the Christmas Symphony (quotations of the Christmas carol "Silent Night" occur repeat- 5 Recordings
edly throughout the symphony), neither the score nor the
parts (Schott Music, Mainz 45 791) make any reference
to this moniker.
6 References

[1] Schott Music Shop: Penderecki 2. Symphony. Retrieved 2014-06-26.

Structure

[2] Robinson, Ray. Krzystof Penderecki: A Guide to His

Works. Prestige Publications: Princeton, 1983, p.20.

The symphony, lasting 3035 minutes, is in one movement employing a modied sonata form. Sectons are
marked: Moderato, Allegretto, Lento, Tempo I and Allegretto.

[3] OCLC 81575760

[4] Penderecki Partial Discography at Polmic.pl (in Polish).
Retrieved 2009-01-26. Information elsewhere shows(?)
that this was released in 1994 but recorded in 1989, so in
any case postdates the Muza recording.

Analysis

[5] OCLC 45109918

The harmonic idiom of the symphony is unabashedly

tonal and romantic, akin to that of Bruckner, and was seen
by many at the time of the symphonys completion as a
betrayal to the prevailing avant-garde style, to which Penderecki himself had previously contributed signicantly
(as demonstrated in his Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima). However, this reversion to a romantic style had
already been hinted at in his St. Luke Passion and Violin
Concerto No. 1 of a few years earlier. This change in
style was to become permanent, and his music since has
been coined as neo-romantic in style.. There are audible
allusions in the rst Allegretto to Suks Asrael Symphony
and in the Lento to Shostakovich.

Instrumentation

Piccolo, utes (2), oboes (2), cor anglais, clarinets (3 in

E at, with bass clarinets), bassoons (2), contrabassoon,
horns (5), trumpets (3), trombones (3), tubas (1), percussion (4 performers: triangle, gong, beck., tamtam, mil.
tr., gr. tr., tubular bells, glockenspiel, xylophone), celesta,
strings.[1]

Premiere

The New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin

Mehta, gave the rst performance of the symphony on
1

7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1

Text

Symphony No. 2 (Penderecki) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._2_(Penderecki)?oldid=751234180 Contributors:

JackofOz, Schissel, BD2412, SmackBot, Cydebot, HappyInGeneral, SergeiProkoev, GrahamHardy, Mild Bill Hiccup, Viktorianec,
GAVVA23212, MystBot, Addbot, Yobot, Username92, Jfmantis, Adevilishmaniac, Toccata quarta and Anonymous: 4

7.2

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