- Written in 1943, Symphony No. 2 cemented Piston’s reputation as a composer. This symphony is also seen as one of the composer’s most accessible pieces to the larger concert-going public.
- It was commissioned by the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University and premiered in 1944 by the National Symphony Orchestra led by Hans Kindler.1
- Piston won the New York Music Critics’ Circle Award for Symphony No. 2.2
- Symphony No. 2 consists of three movements:
- Moderato
- Adagio
- Allegro
- Fun/sad fact: Leonard Bernstein chose the “Adagio” for a memorial concert following Piston’s death in 1976.
Sources
- Carol J. Oja, “Walter Piston,” American Symphony Orchestra (2011), accessed March 13, 2026, https://americansymphony.org/concert-notes/walter-piston-1894-1976/.
- Howard Pollack, “Piston, Walter,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed May 13, 2026, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000021851.
Cut IDs
45836