triumph. But Rachmaninoff had died in
America two years earlier.
The first movement begins with a
somber slow introduction presenting
two elements that will pervade the symphony: first a fiercely bristling “turn”
or spiraling figure in the woodwinds
and then the opening notes of the
“Dies Irae” thumped out by low unison
strings. Then with another whirl of the
turn motive in the violas, the main
Allegro section chugs into action.
As light as the first movement was
massive, the second-movement scherzo
opens again with the turn figure, now in
the violas. A gently swaying version of the
“Dies Irae” appears in the violins. But it
is only one of many fleeting whispers and
rumors flying around the orchestra. The
middle trio section becomes even more
elusive, with a fleet Slavic dance version of
“Dies Irae” in the woodwinds and a solo
violin melody created from the whirring
turn figures.
Again but more gently, the violas sound
the turn motive to generate the Larghetto
slow movement. This continues as an
accompaniment to the solo clarinet’s
sorrowful, gypsy-flavored mel