Symphony no. 2 In D major, op. 73 / Academic Festival Overture, op. 80

This orchestral release by Johannes Brahms pairs works composed in 1877 and 1880. They exemplify Brahms's late-Romantic orchestral style, combining classical forms and contrapuntal technique with warm, lyrical themes and rich orchestration, and they reflect a period in which he consolidated his orchestral voice by juxtaposing a broadly pastoral symphonic approach with a more overtly celebratory overture.