Piano Concerto No. 2 (Shostakovich): Difference between revisions
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The jolly main theme of the first movement is played by the bassoon, who is soon accompanied by the clarinets and oboes. The piano enters unobtrusively with an answering theme, played as single notes in both hands an [[octave]] apart. |
The jolly main theme of the first movement is played by the bassoon, who is soon accompanied by the clarinets and oboes. The piano enters unobtrusively with an answering theme, played as single notes in both hands an [[octave]] apart. |
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This ''concerto'' is sometimes dismissed as an unimportant work by the composer, especially in comparison with his ''concerto'', the [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Shostakovich)| Concerto for piano, trumpet and string orchestra]]. The composer himself as has been quoted as saying that the work has ‘no redeeming artistic merits’ in a letter to Edison Denisov from mid-February 1957, barely a week after he had finished work on the Concerto. It is suggested that he wanted to preempt criticism by deprecating the work himself (having been the victim of official censure numberous times), and that it was actually meant to be |
This ''concerto'' is sometimes dismissed as an unimportant work by the composer, especially in comparison with his ''concerto'', the [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Shostakovich)| Concerto for piano, trumpet and string orchestra]]. The composer himself as has been quoted as saying that the work has ‘no redeeming artistic merits’ in a letter to Edison Denisov from mid-February 1957, barely a week after he had finished work on the Concerto. It is suggested that he wanted to preempt criticism by deprecating the work himself (having been the victim of official censure numberous times), and that it was actually meant to be tongue-in-cheek. |
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Despite his dismissal, the composer performed the piece himself numerous times, and has even set it down on record along with his first concerto. Both are played at fast speeds that are rarely matched in modern recordings, and they show off the composer's pianistic skill quite well. |
Despite his dismissal, the composer performed the piece himself numerous times, and has even set it down on record along with his first concerto. Both are played at fast speeds that are rarely matched in modern recordings, and they show off the composer's pianistic skill quite well. |
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Revision as of 19:16, 8 March 2006
Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major (Op. 102) was composed in 1957. He composed it for his son Maxim's nineteenth birthday, and Maxim premiered the piece during his graduation at the Moscow Conservatory.
The work is scored for solo piano, piccolo, three flutes, three oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, tuba, timpani and strings.
The concerto lasts around 35 minutes and has three movements, with a short pause linking the final two:
The jolly main theme of the first movement is played by the bassoon, who is soon accompanied by the clarinets and oboes. The piano enters unobtrusively with an answering theme, played as single notes in both hands an octave apart.
This concerto is sometimes dismissed as an unimportant work by the composer, especially in comparison with his concerto, the Concerto for piano, trumpet and string orchestra. The composer himself as has been quoted as saying that the work has ‘no redeeming artistic merits’ in a letter to Edison Denisov from mid-February 1957, barely a week after he had finished work on the Concerto. It is suggested that he wanted to preempt criticism by deprecating the work himself (having been the victim of official censure numberous times), and that it was actually meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
Despite his dismissal, the composer performed the piece himself numerous times, and has even set it down on record along with his first concerto. Both are played at fast speeds that are rarely matched in modern recordings, and they show off the composer's pianistic skill quite well.
Maxim's own son, Dmitri Maximovich Shostakovich, too has recorded the piece, with his father conducting. Identical in bearing to his famous grandfather, Dmitri the younger also matches his grandfather's frenetic speed and expression very closely. His is amongst the best recordings, which include that by Marc-Andre Hamelin for Hyperion records.
The first movement was featured in the Disney movie Fantasia 2000. The soloist was the pianist Yefim Bronfman.
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