Remy LBO

Sergey Prokofiev Symphony No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 40 (written in 1924–25)

I always feel like a bit of a dick talking about classical music, but this is genuinely what I’ve been listening to these days. Symphony No. 2 was considered a total failure by critics and Prokofiev himself. After its premiere, it wasn’t performed for nearly forty years—by anyone. If you listen to it, you can hear a young composer utilizing the dissonance of Stravinsky and Schoenburg, but also clearly wanting to do more beautiful stuff. You can really hear him struggling to find the balance, and I absolutely love hearing this internal battle.