Haunting new entry to the canon: Shostakovich Piano 2

For the first time, Shostakovich has entered the Classic FM ‘Hall of Fame’ top ten with the Piano Concerto no.2, in at number 9 in their chart.  I’m not surprised: the slow movement is truly exceptional.  It’s all you’ll ever hear played on a populist outlet like Classic FM because the other two movements are (IMHO) eminently forgettable.

When it comes to piano slow movements, starting with Mozart 21 composers have traditionally pulled out all the stops (if that expression isn’t inapposite).  The collected body of such pieces makes for the most sublime (and accessible, what’s wrong with that?) music on the planet.  Taking piano concertos as a whole – i.e. all three (or, rarely, four) movements – for my money the eternally popular Grieg and Rachmaninov 2 are superior; maybe even the Schumann (which doesn’t seem to appeal so much to ‘serious’ musical types ‘because the piano part is so simple‘).  Obviously, Beethoven 5 has many supporters, along with the Mozart and Tchaik 1.  Old Pa Drew went to his grave (literally) to Brahms 2: in WW2 he’d spent one of his two precious evenings of home leave during a short break  at a concert featuring the same, and his parents didn’t even mind, they knew how strong was the draw.  This list goes on, and should really include Rhapsody in Blue, even if not technically a concerto.

As it happens, Shostakovich 2 was the last entrant into my personal full music canon (though I’m still open to more).  I’m not sure how it got overlooked chez Drew for 50 years – perhaps because Pa Drew didn’t know it at all until I stumbled across it.  These things have their turn.

The youtube above is of Shostakovich playing it himself.  Slow movement starts at around 6:30 in.  Always good to hear the composer playing his own work** and it’s a bit of a revelation: he’s pretty brisk and businesslike, almost unsentimental.  Most interpretations wring more pathos out of it – which ain’t difficult, and to my mind makes it the more haunting.  It’s definitely in my top 5 for haunting. 

Everyone has views on music – so, have at it!

ND  

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** One of my most treasured possessions, inherited of course from Pa Drew, is a 78 of Gershwin playing Rhapsody in Blue: the brain quickly filters out the crackles as the soul becomes entranced