Analysis |best|: Shostakovich Piano Concerto 2

Unlike the tragic, weighty, and often subversive nature of his symphonies or his First Piano Concerto, the Second Concerto is characterized by its optimism, wit, and youthful exuberance. Written for his son Maxim's 19th birthday, the work serves as a rite of passage. It was composed during the "Khrushchev Thaw," a period of relative artistic freedom in the Soviet Union following the death of Stalin. Consequently, the concerto is less burdened by the political oppression that defines works like the Fifth Symphony or the Fourth String Quartet.

: The movement begins with a sorrowful, chorale-like introduction played by muted strings. The atmosphere borrows heavily from the slow movements of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff. shostakovich piano concerto 2 analysis

The most famous analytical aspect of this movement is Shostakovich’s inclusion of a musical joke dedicated to his son. The primary virtuosic passages for the piano are actually altered, hyper-accelerated versions of Charles-Louis Hanon’s famous finger exercises—the tedious scales every young pianist is forced to practice. Unlike the tragic, weighty, and often subversive nature

[Piano Concerto No. 2] │ ├── I. Allegro (F major) ────── Marches, Hanon exercises, high energy ├── II. Andante (C minor) ───── Rachmaninoff-style romance, profound lyricism └── III. Allegro (F major) ──── Rapid 7/8 time, folk dance, technical fireworks I. Allegro (F major) Consequently, the concerto is less burdened by the