Piano Concerto No. 2 (Brahms)

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major Op. 83 by Johannes Brahms is separated by a gap of 22 years from his first piano concerto. Brahms began it in 1878 and completed the piece in 1881 while in Pressbaum near Vienna. It is dedicated to his teacher, Eduard Marxsen.

Background

The piece is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (B-flat), 2 bassoons, 4 horns (2 B-flat bass, 2 F bass), 2 trumpets (B-flat), timpani (B-flat and F), and strings.

The piece is in four movements, rather than the three typical of concertos in the Classical and Romantic periods:

#Allegro non troppo (B-flat major)
#Allegro appassionato (D minor)
#Andante (B-flat major/F-sharp major)
#Allegretto grazioso (B-flat major)

The additional movement results in a concerto considerably lengthier than most other concertos written up to that time. Upon its completion, Brahms sent its score to his friend, the surgeon and violinist Theodore Billroth to whom Brahms had dedicated his first two string quartets, describing the work as "some little piano pieces." (http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/brahms_piano_con2.html). Brahms even described the stormy and impassioned scherzo as a "little wisp of a scherzo."cite web | last = Allsen | first = J. Michael | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Piano Concerto No. 2, Johannes Brahms | work = | publisher = Galveston Symphony Orchestra | date = 2002 | url = http://www.galvestonsymphony.org/composers/JBrahms_PianoConc2.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-07-22| ref=allsen2002]

The premiere of this concerto was given in Budapest on November 9, 1881, with Brahms as soloist, and was an immediate and great success. He proceeded to perform the piece in many cities across Europe. (http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/brahms_piano_con2.html).

Description

Allegro non troppo

The first movement is in the concerto variant of sonata form. The main theme is introduced with a horn solo, with the piano interceding. The woodwind instruments proceed to introduce a small motive before an unusually placed cadenza appears. The full orchestra repeats the theme and introduces more motives in the orchestral exposition. The piano and orchestra work together to develop these themes in the piano exposition before the key changes to F Minor (from F Major, the dominant) and the piano plays a powerful and difficult section before the next orchestral tutti appears. The development, like many such sections in the Classical period, works its way from the dominant key back to the tonic while heavily developing themes. At the beginning of the recapitulation, the theme is replayed before a differing transition is heard, returning to the music heard in the piano exposition (this time in B-flat Major / B-flat Minor). A coda appears after the minor key section, finishing off this movement.

Allegro appassionato

This scherzo is in the key of D Minor and is in ternary form. Contrary to Brahms's "tiny wisp of a scherzo" remark, it is a tumultuous movement. The piano and orchestra introduce the theme and develop it before a quiet section intervenes. Soon afterwards the piano and orchestra launch into a stormy development of the theme before coming to the central episode (in D major). The central episode is brisk and begins with the full orchestra before yet another quiet section intervenes; then the piano is integrated into the orchestral effect to repeat the theme of the central episode. The beginning section returns but is highly varied.

Andante

The slow movement is in the tonic key of B-flat Major and is unusual in that it utilizes a cello solo. Brahms rewrote the cello's theme and changed into a song, "Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer". This movement is clearly similar to chamber music.Fact|date=July 2008

Allegretto grazioso

The concluding movement is in sonata-rondo form, opening with an elegant theme. The second section is not in the typical dominant key (F Major) but is in A Minor, which is the leading tone. Again, the piano is integrated into the orchestral effect. The theme returns but is slowly dissolved into the central episode, where the solo displays more virtuosity. The main theme returns again, and soon after the first half of the rondo is played again before a coda concludes this massive work. http://www.ivanmoravec.net/albums/al-su1994.html.

Notable Interpretations

*Claudio Arrau with Bernard Haitink and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
*Sviatoslav Richter with Erich Leinsdorf and Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Grammy Award-winning)
*Emil Gilels with Eugen Jochum, and an earlier interpretation with Fritz Reiner
*Maurizio Pollini with Claudio Abbado
*Krystian Zimerman with Leonard Bernstein and VPO
*Rudolf Serkin with George Szell and Cleveland Orchestra
*Leon Fleischer with Szell and Cleveland Orchestra
*Nelson Freire with Riccardo Chailly conducting Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Notes

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/discover.shtml BBC Radio 3's "Discovering Music"] (includes a link to an .ram file discussing the piece)
* [http://www.bh2000.net/score/orchbrah/ Brahms' Orchestra Works] (free music score of this composition available. In public domain.)
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