Brahms, Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat major, op.83

Brahms himself played the solo part at the world premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 2 in Budapest's Redoutensaal on 9 November 1881. The work opens with a beautiful horn call which is like a magical summons to the other instruments. The Scherzo is of symphonic proportions and richness. The nocturne-like mood of the slow movement is based on the song of a solo cello, a simple eight-measure phrase. The finale has a bright, skipping figure for the piano as the principal rondo refrain. Maurizio Pollini was born in Milan to a family of artists in 1942. In 1960 he won the first prize at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Since then, he has been a leading protagonist at all major concert venues in Europe, as well as in America and Japan.