II. Adagio

Valen: Symphony No.2. In each of the four movements Valen has chosen a principal subject that makes use of all twelve notes in the scale. Motifs appear both in their original and transposed forms and the composer also makes frequent use of inversions. Retrograde motion, on the other hand, appears more seldom.
To quote the liner notes by Valen specialist Arvid Vollsnes, 'many of the movements are like gigantic fugues. They have a dynamic, rather than an architectural form even though we encounter sonata form, Lied form and rondos'.
Klassik Heute 10, highest rating.