Piano Concerto No. 2

Shostakovich composed his second symphony for his son Maxim, who premiered the piece during his graduation concert at the Moscow Conservatory in May 1957. Although the first movement is full of breakneck displays of dexterity, strength and stamina, it also contains the odd humorous nod and wink from one pianist to another.

The slow andante middle movement is sweetly melancholic and it is easy to read a certain amount of sentimentality into the music; that said, the emotional notes can also be viewed as comfort and encouragement from a father to a son about to go out into the world. The final movement vacillates between jollity and infernal dance, setting an elegant and explosive full stop at the end of the programme.