Credits:

Michael Francis

Description:

Ern Dohnnyi was a Hungarian composer who lived roughly during the same period as Bartk, butas suggested by his use of the German name Ernst von Dohnnyihe considered himself a successor to the German Romantic tradition epitomized by Brahms. During his lifetime, he enjoyed international renown as a pianist and, as an educator, mentored Annie Fischer, Gza Anda, and Georg Solti, among others. The conductor Christoph von Dohnnyi is his grandson. Although the actual composition of his Symphony No. 2 took place during World War II, the concept is said to date back some 15 years earlier. The first movement, marked Allegro con brio, ma energico e appassionato, is highly energetic; in contrast, the Adagio exudes an idyllic and sentimental atmosphere; and a lighthearted scherzo movement that at times evokes American music, culminating in a grand final movementa set of variations based on a Bach chorale