Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2

I grew up playing band arrangements of Shostakovich’s symphonic music. They were some of the more challenging works we took on as students, and Shostakovich wrote interesting horn parts. So I developed an early interest in his music. I still have LPs of all his symphonies and many of the orchestral scores, although finding them all might not be easy.

But I mostly neglected his other works, and I can’t think of a very good reason why.

Listening to Shostakovich’s music can be very challenging at times, but more often quite engaging. You often find a deceptive simplicity in his melodies. Some of the rhythms seem wooden and frequently militaristic (often quite consciously so). Shostakovich (1906-1975) lived in a Russia torn by revolution and war.

Those things might be genuine or satirical. There is a lot of humor in his music. And then there’s the exceptional lyricism. Well, the point is you are not likely to be bored listening to Shostakovich.

His Piano Concerto No. 2 has all of these elements in three short movements totaling about 20 minutes. Shostakovich may not have considered this to be one of his most important works, but it is one of the most popular (and with good reason). This work sparkles all the way through, and it makes a great introduction to a very interesting composer.

All three movements should play in succession. If not, you can find all 3 movements here.