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- Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No.2. This colossus of the piano repertoire topped the annual Classic FM Hall of Fame for the first time in 2001 and hasn’t strayed far since, reaching that No.1 spot an impressive eight times so far, since the chart began in 1996.
- Beethoven – Piano Concerto No.5 (‘Emperor’) We all know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but in this case you absolutely can: Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 absolutely lives up to its imperial nickname.
- Grieg – Piano Concerto in A minor. The great Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg only completed one piano concerto during his lifetime, and it has become one of the most recognised in the world (thanks, in part, to the iconic comedy sketch by Morecambe and Wise, and the late André Previn).
- Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No.2. Shostakovich himself downplayed this concerto, saying it had “no redeeming artistic merits”, but audiences have always begged to differ.
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The best recordings of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2. We bring you the finest recordings on disc of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, the most cherished of all the Russian composer's works.
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Well, it’s pretty obvious. Rachmaninov published his first piano concerto in 1891, aged just 18. This concerto, his second, came later and was composed between 1900 and 1901. Interestingly though, while many piano concertos are dedicated to performers, conductors, or patrons, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2is possibly unique in carrying an inscr...
Beset by depression after the disastrous premiere of his Symphony No.1in 1897, Rachmaninov – then in his mid 20s – consulted Dr. Nikolai Dahl, a physician who was exploring the use of hypnosis. Rachmaninov later recalled, “I heard the same hypnotic formula repeated day after day while I lay half asleep in the armchair in Dahl’s study. ‘You will wri...
Playing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2is no laughing matter. Rachmaninov’s music is challenging to those with small hands, but equally problematic if your fingers are meaty; the filigree patterns require both a wide span and fine-tipped control. And war-horse crashing is the last thing it needs. Rachmaninov’s own playing (he recorded many of hi...
The work’s exceptional fame owes a fair bit to the 1945 film Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean and based on Noel Coward’s play. Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard are the star-crossed lovers who meet by chance at a railway station in a small, prim, and proper English town. Both married, with families, they fight their passion and their conscienc...
Our recommended recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 performed by Daniil Trifonov, is featured on Destination Rachmaninov: Departure, winner of the Concerto Award in the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2019. “Trifonov is perhaps the most exciting pianist to have emerged internationally in the last 30 years, and peerless today as a Rachmaninov ...
- Jessica Duchen
- 12 min
Dec 22, 2023 · Videos. Quizzes. Win. Best Piano Concertos: 15 Greatest Masterpieces. Explore our selection of the best piano concertos featuring masterpieces by composers including Beethoven, Chopin,...
Jun 28, 2023 · Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto is widely described as the greatest piano concerto ever written. And listeners of Classic FM tend to agree, voting it right at the top of the Classic FM Hall of Fame every year. It’s an incredibly intense and melodious piece of music, ridiculously virtuosic for the soloist ...