Boris Tsichchenko completed his Dante Symphony No. 2 on November 19, 2000. It forms the second part of his choreosymphonic cycle Beatrice as an independent symphony. The total symphony runs in line with the book of Dante Alighieri: The Divine Comedy.
This second part leaves Dante to hell (Inferno). It consists of two parts that follow the circles of hell (in total 9); they treat circle 1-3 (part 1) and circles 4-6 (part 2).
Dante meets Virgil and meets Homer, Ovidius, and other sinners whose only sin was that they did not believe in Christianity. Then the music goes down to the second circle, where he learns about the lusts like Francesca da Rimini. After that, Dante and Vergilius make acquaintance with the monumental Ciacco, who predicts little good for the future.
Part two deals with the circles. Greeders and wizards roll in circle 4 each other without anyone having them. The second segment of this part is orchestral the hottest. After the crossing of the Styx, Medusa blocks access to the town of Dis. The last section is about the graves of heretics.
The music has a lot more cohesion than Dante's Symphony No. 1. The music seems to be a sequel to Dmitry Shostakovich's music, with heavy-hearted sections, but also music that sounds so popular and ironic. The musicians should also sing wordlessly from time to time.
The first performance of the work took place on May 8, 2001, when the follow-up parts were not yet composed. Performers were the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra led by Nikolaj Alexeev. From that premier recordings were recorded on the Russian sheet label Northern Flowers. The recording of this part is better registered than that of part 1, the microphone suspension is so heard above the orchestra, because all the musical instruments are now heard. Discography
wiki
