Dohnányi: Symphony No. 2 in E major, Op. 40

Although Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnányi was one of the most versatile and influential musicians of his time, his works are seldom played nowadays. The Capriccio label is helping to rectify that situation with a series of recordings of his late-Romantic, sensual music, of which this eighth album features his Symphony No. 2. Composed at the time of his departure from war-torn Hungary during World War II, it's a colossal work that lasts for around an hour and calls for an unusually large orchestra. Ruralia Hungarica, written in 1923 and arranged for orchestra the following year, makes use of familiar Hungarian folk melodies, some of them more widely known through their appearance in the works of other Hungarian composers.