During composition of his First Symphony, Brahms was still very much under Beethoven’s influence; in his Second Symphony he loosened the ties considerably. The principle of motivic embellishment now infuses not just the development section but the whole of the first movement. In the following movements, too, everything appears to be interrelated. The premiere in Vienna’s Musikverein was one of the greatest triumphs of Brahms’s career, and he wrote enthusiastically: “The orchestra here rehearsed, played, and praised me with a zeal that has never happened to me before.” With the aid of this study-score edition, conductors, students and Brahms aficionados can enjoy the Urtext of the Brahms Complete Edition (likewise published by Henle) in a convenient small format. In his preface, the editor – Brahms expert Robert Pascall – presents interesting information about the work’s genesis and publishing history.
