Symphony No. 2

Siegfried and Rued Langgaard at their home in Niels Juelsgade, c. 1912.

Symphony No. 2, entitled Vaarbrud (Break ofSpring), was written in the period 1912-14. This work is for soprano and orchestra and is couched in a much more intimate symphonic style that Langgaard's first symphony. An extreme search for beauty was typical of Langgaard in this period of his life, when - in the words of his mother - he was an "artist of harmony".

The creation of this symphony is closely connected with Langgaard's summer holiday in Kyrkhult in Blekinge in 1913, when the family stayed in a house with the name of Rosengården (The Rose Garden). This summer was of special personal significance to the 20-year-old composer, as some years later he looked back nostagically on it in a number of compositions with titles such as Rosengårdsspil (Rosengård Play), Rosengården in memoriam, and Rosengårdsviser (Rosengård Ballads).

This was the last summer when the family was complete - Siegfried Langgaard died in January 1914. Later, Rued Langgaard dedicated the slow movement of Symphony No. 2 to the memory of his father.

Listen to a short excerpt from the slow movement of Symphony No. 2 .