Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2

About this episode

This episode explores Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto and its significance as a comeback piece in classical music.

We humans seem to love comeback stories, and there is no comeback quite as compelling in the classical music world as Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto. It was written three years after the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony, a premiere so catastrophic that it lives on in the annals of musical history, and is the essential starting point for understanding the Second Piano Concerto and how it came to be. The concerto revived both Rachmaninoff's career and his spirits, and it remains his most famous orchestral work. It is a towering masterpiece of Romanticism, overflowing with glorious melody after glorious melody, supported by virtuosic and sumptuous writing for the solo piano, and a deeply satisfying orchestral part that continues to make audiences swoon around the world. Today on the show, we'll begin with the story of Rachmaninoff's First Symphony, and then walk through this extraordinary concerto, highlighting what truly makes Rachmaninoff's music so special. Hint: it's not just the pretty melodies. Recording: Vladimir Ashkenazy with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin cond.

People in this episode

Host: Joshua Weilerstein

Topics covered

• Rachmaninoff
• Piano Concerto
• comeback stories
• Romanticism
• orchestral music
• musical history

Keywords

• Rachmaninoff
• Piano Concerto No. 2
• First Symphony
• Romanticism
• orchestral music
• melody
• virtuosic writing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

Books & works: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Rachmaninoff's First Symphony

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