“Brahms Symphony No. 2,” September 28

Sunday, September 28, 2 p.m.

German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport IA

Presented by Jacob Bancks, Ph.D., a professor and co-chair of composition and musicianship at Rock Island's Augustana College, Brahms Symphony No. 2 serves as the latest program in the German American Heritage Center's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" lecture series, with Bancks enlightening patrons on the gorgeous musical work whose composition was reportedly brief in comparison with the 21 years it took Brahms to complete his first symphony.

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73, was composed by Johannes Brahms in the summer of 1877, during a visit to Pörtschach am Wörthersee, a town in the Austrian province of Carinthia. The cheery and almost pastoral mood of the symphony often invites comparison with Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, but, perhaps mischievously, Brahms wrote to his publisher in November of 1877 that the symphony "is so melancholy that you will not be able to bear it. I have never written anything so sad, and the score must come out in mourning." The piece is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings. Brahms' works was given its Vienna premiere on December 30, 1877 by the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Hans Richter; Walter Frisch noted that it had originally been scheduled for December 9, but "in one of those little ironies of music history, it had to be postponed [because] the players were so preoccupied with learning Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner." A typical performance lasts between 40 and 50 minutes.

With his works praised by the New York Times as “colorfully orchestrated” and “invitingly lyrical,” Bancks serves as an associate professor of music at Augustana and directs the choir of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church. In addition to writing program notes for the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and co-hosting a monthly educational program on WVIK public radio, Bancks has composed frequently for local ensembles including the Moline High School Orchestra, the Quincy Symphony, and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Recordings of his music have been released by American Modern Recordings and broadcast on BBC Radio 3, American Public Media’s Performance Today, and WFMT-Chicago Classical Radio, and later this year, the Quad City Symphony will stage his first opera Karkinos, co-commissioned by Living Proof Exhibit and inspired by more than 30 in-person interviews with people whose lives have been impacted by cancer. Other current projects include a large cycle of solo piano music for pianist Kuang-Hao Huang and a concerto for clarinetist Ricardo Morales, co-commissioned by the Quad City Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Brahms Symphony No. 2 will be presented at Davenport's German American Heritage Center on September 28, with refreshments for this “Kaffee und Kuchen” event served at 1:30 p.m. and Bancks' program beginning at 2 p.m. Participation is free for Heritage Center members and $8 for non-members, and more information is available by calling (563)322-8844 and visiting GAHC.org.