Famed in his lifetime for his large-scale choral works, but perhaps best known today for his Violin Concerto No. 1 (8.557689; also Violin Concertos Nos. 2 & 3: 8.557793) and Kol Nidrei, Max Bruch also composed three symphonies. The First, dedicated to Brahms and indebted to Mendelssohn and Schumann, was well received. The weighty Second, dedicated to the violinist/composer Joseph Joachim and echoing the music of Beethoven and Brahms, features a lovely Adagio movement with lyrical solos for several instruments.