b'Program Notescontinuedpiano score. He wrote the concerto in about a week, although it took about another six months for him to complete the orchestration. The piece was met with near disaster when Scriabins publisher, Mitrofan Belyayev, sent the score to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his assessment. Rimsky-Korsakovs judgment of the work was scathing. He had nothing but negative feedback, citing issues with its disordered nature as well as particular issues with the orchestration, a subject in which Rimsky-Korsakov was a recognized master. In a letter, Scriabin apologized profusely to Rimsky-Korsakov, and promised to thank him by industriously exterminating my carelessness. He only made matters worse when he absentmindedly placed the letter of apology in an envelope meant for composer Anatoly Lyadov and Lyadovs letter in an envelope meant for Rimsky-Korsakov. Even after seeing the revisions made by Scriabin, Rimsky-Korsakov was still very displeased with the work calling it filth and saying .I am in no condition to cope with such a mush headed genius.Even with such a rough start, the concerto premiered with success and to great acclaim, although it has never been considered a staple in the piano concerto repertory. Despite his finding many faults with Scriabins work, it should be noted that, while writing his memoirs, Rimsky-Korsakov rightfully allowed that Scriabin was a star of the first magnitude.Instrumentationtwo flutes and piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, strings, and solo pianoDuration28 minutesJohannes Brahms(1833-1897)Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73Composed 1877Johannes Brahms was barely 20 when Robert Schumann introduced him to the world in Europes most popular music journal as the onechosen to express the most exalted spirit of the times in an ideal manner, one who [sprang] fully armed from the head of Jove[A] youth at whose cradle the graces and heroes of old stood guard. This high praise from the great maestro, as well as the high expectations that came with it, all but crippled Brahms as an orchestral composer. As a teen, Brahms wanted to be included amongst the great composers, and had long been inspired by the likes of Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Beethoven. He achieved almost overnight fame from the high praise in Schumanns article, but he felt burdened by the weight of his most princetonsymphony.org/ 14/ princetonfestival.org'