Composed over a six month period (October 1906 to April 1907), Rachmaninoff's second excursion into symphonic form was written at a time when he was still not entirely confident in his abilities to handle the genre. Unhappy with the first draft, the work was subjected to much revision for several months after its completion. The premiere, given on January 26, 1908 in St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre with the composer conducting, received tumultuous...