Shostakovich Piano Concerto 2 Analysis -

The concerto is a father telling his son: The world is beautiful, listen to the scales; the world is ugly, listen to the dissonances; and when you cannot tell the difference, just keep playing.

This is Shostakovich looking at his 19-year-old son and seeing his own lost youth. The Andante is not sad about a tragedy. It is sad about time . It is the most profound movement because it does the least. shostakovich piano concerto 2 analysis

Composed during the post-Stalin "political thaw," the concerto represents a moment of personal and musical freedom. It has since become a staple of popular culture, most notably featured in the "Steadfast Tin Soldier" segment of Disney's Fantasia 2000 . The concerto is a father telling his son:

Analytical sketch (motivic map)

Next time you hear the Andante, do not listen for tragedy. Listen for a man who survived hell, sitting at a piano in his study late at night, playing a simple, sad song to an empty room—imagining his son will one day understand it. That is the deep truth of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2. It is sad about time

In 1957, four years after Stalin's death, Dmitri Shostakovich sat down to write a 19th birthday gift for his son, Maxim