In 1829 Frédéric Chopin graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory seeking to establish himself in the musical world. He was ambitious and in love, and these qualities found reflection in his Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21.
While known as his Second Piano Concerto, this work pre-dates by about half a year the Concerto in E minor, Op. 11, which now bears the designation “Piano Concerto No. 1.”
Although it is a youthful work, the F-minor Concerto reveals a skilled composer who has already found a distinctive musical voice. Hearing this piece, we can admire the 19-year- old’s sure grasp of the concerto form. More impressive, we also detect at this early juncture in his career all the original elements of Chopin’s style: the themes that are by turns dreamy and passionate, the yearning melancholy of his harmonies and the brilliant flashes of pianistic ornamentation.
Let’s listen now to pianist Evgeny Kissin as he performs this work:
