Symphony No. 2 (Bernstein)

Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 2 The Age of Anxiety is a piece for orchestra and solo piano. The piece was composed from 1948 to 1949 in the US and Israel, and was revised in 1965. It is titled after W. H. Auden's poem of the same name, and dedicated to Serge Koussevitzky.

A friend is claimed to have given Bernstein the idea to write music based on The Age of Anxiety in a letter:

When beginning to write the piece, Bernstein stated that Auden's poem was "one of the most shattering examples of pure virtuosity in the history of English poetry" and that a "composition of a symphony based on The Age of Anxiety acquired an almost compulsive quality." Having won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948, "The Age of Anxiety" Bernstein lauded the piece, saying "When I first read the book I was breathless." Bernstein worked on the composition "in Taos, Philadelphia, Richmond, Mass., in Tel-Aviv, in planes, in hotel lobbies..." Though titled as such, “The Age of Anxiety” bucks the traditional form of a symphony. Instead of a conventional four-movement, exclusively orchestral work, Bernstein scored it for solo piano and orchestra, and divided the piece into six subsections – mirroring Auden’s text – split equally into two parts that are performed without pause. He completed the piece on March 20, 1949 in New York City. Unsatisfied with the ending of the composition, Bernstein revised it in 1965 to firmly establish his idea for the true ending. The work was dedicated to and commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky who was preparing to end his 25-year career conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

The symphony is two parts, One and Two, each of them comprising 3 sections A, B and C. Each movement is named after the six sections of Auden's poem, trying to mirror the moods and events in the poem.

In accordance with Auden’s “Prologue,” the poem begins with four lonely individuals (three men and one woman) in a bar, each reflecting on his or her own disquietude while acknowledging the presence of the others. Musically, a plaintive clarinet duet signals the beginning of the characters’ journey, with a long descending scale signaling their retreat to a shared unconscious. It is here that the characters begin discussing life in each of their own point of views, moving onto the “The Seven Ages.” Here, Bernstein composed a set of variations that are unique in the fact that, rather than all sharing the same melody or thematic material like a traditional theme and variations would, each variation plays on the material from the variation immediately before it. This gives the work a constantly shifting landscape that is reminiscent of the past but progressing for the future. It then proceeds to “The Seven Stages,” that tells the tale of the same “group [embarking] on a collective dream, one of even more heightened awareness, attempting to rediscover the deeper meaning of their own humanity.” Emulating the characters conflicting ideals and desires, Bernstein weaves a frantic and confused musical tapestry that shows the characters trying desperately to find what they are searching for, but falling short, though becoming closer because of their experience. This brings the first half of the piece to a dramatic and abrupt close.

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