Symphony No 2

In the wake of his First Symphony's catastrophic première, Rachmaninov took a decade
before commencing his Second, painstakingly revising it before conducting the triumphant
première in 1908. Although haunted, like his First, by the Dies irae chant melody, the
Second Symphony brims with Rachmaninov's revitalised assurance as a composer, from
its brooding opening to the vigorous grandeur of its conclusion. Eric Carmen borrowed
the third movement's poignant theme for his popular song Never Gonna Fall In Love
Again, a tribute to the enduring power of Rachmaninov's Romantic genius.