Always self-critical, Johannes Brahms worked on his Second Piano Concerto for three years. He wrote to Clara Schumann: “I want to tell you that I have written a very small piano concerto with a very small and pretty scherzo.” This was, of course ironic, as he was describing a giant of a piece.
The opening is deceptively benign: a lone horn calls out a simple eight-note melody, answered by the piano rising quietly from the lowest depths. An ensuing cadenza encompasses the entire keyboard.
The “small scherzo” is by turns turbulent and winsome.
The slow movement begins with a wondrous song spun out by solo cello, later with the oboe.
Wonderful elegance and charm mark the finale’s main theme. Here Brahms’ creativity is virtually endless.
And what a performance this is! Here is pianist Yuja Wang to play this great concerto for you:
