The new symphony was dedicated to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a man of catholic tastesthough his musical likes ran to plainer fare like Home on the Range. The premiere last week in San Francisco of Roger Sessions' Symphony No. 2 was hard work for musicians and audience alike.
Conductor Pierre Monteux, who had put the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra through seven rehearsals of it, scowled at the notes through his silver-rimmed glasses. After working their way through tricky phrases, the violinists looked as if they had been slapped in the face by the score....
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