Brahms: Symphony No.2

Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Sir John Barbirolli

Johannes Brahms 1833-1897
Symphony No.2 in D, Op.73

Queen Elizabeth II laid the foundation stone of the new Coventry Cathedral on 23 March 1956.
The new building was built alongside the ruins of the old church according to plans by the architect Basil Spence; the dedication took place on 25 May 1962. Benjamin Britten composed his War Requiem for the occasion and it received its first performance on 30 May. It was particularly significant that the tenor Peter Pears and baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, an Englishman and a German, sang the Song of Propitiation together in this poignant anti-war piece.
The Berlin Philharmonic also had a special part to play in this context. During the spring of 1961, the Provost of the Cathedral, Dr. Harold Williams, had visited the director of the Berlin Philharmonic, Dr. Wolfgang Stresemann. It was his wish that, with the opening of the Cathedral, a clear sign of reconciliation, peace and friendship should be made publicly and he extended an invitation to the Berlin Philharmonic. At the time, this could not be taken for granted in view of the serious devastation wrought by the German bombings during World War II. Williams immediately found an ally in Stresemann. The director established contact with the Berlin Senate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bonn, and was able to ensure the financing of the journey through the Senate and the Federal Government. Consequently, the orchestra travelled to Coventry at the beginning of June 1962 and gave two concerts as a gift from the city of Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany. Eugen Jochum conducted the first on 5 June 1962 with Beethoven's Seventh and Bruckner's Ninth on the programme, Sir John Barbirolli the second on 6 June with works by Vaughan Williams, Haydn and Brahms.
Unfortunately, all that remains of the concert given by the Philharmonic with Sir John Barbirolli in Coventry is this recording of Brahms's Second Symphony.

Price: $24.98