symphony no. 2 in D, op. 59
Baber’s Second Symphony was written for the Chamber Music Celebration at Morehead State University in the summer of 1987. Baber had been on the faculty for the summer festival the previous summer, where a number of his chamber works were played. As a result, MSU commissioned a symphony for chamber orchestra to be played the following year.
Manfred Blum conducted the first performance of the Symphony at the Chamber Music Celebration in 1987 and again at the festival the following summer. He subsequently guest conducted the work with various orchestras, including at the Hochschule in Cologne, Germany. Since the Chamber Music Celebration was designed for professional orchestra musicians on summer break, the Symphony requires a high level skill in performance, but it is quite accessible for excellent student ensembles. Scoring: 2, 2, 2, 2 - 2, 2, 0, 0, bells, str. |