Sergei Rachmaninoff‘s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18 is one of the composer’s most enduring works. It’s been described as “one of the greatest works in the piano repertoire,” and has been performed endlessly since its premiere by Rachmaninoff himself in 1901. It has also appeared in numerous films like “Brief Encounter,” “September Affair,” and “Hereafter.”
However, this performance by Anna Fedorova may be the most viewed version of all time.
Fedorova’s breathtaking rendition comes from a concert with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie on September 1st, 2013, at the famed Koninklijk Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The concert hall was full that night, but her recording has racked up over 46 million views on YouTube. Fedorova’s interpretation and execution of the piece is marked by a poetic approach, bringing out the lyricism, broad dynamic range, and Romantic intensity.
“When I’m working on the piece I like to listen to different interpretations, but in the end I come up with my own; sometimes, in fact, I don’t listen to other performances that much, unless maybe it’s a new and unheard modern piece where I’m learning how it sounds!” She told Presto Music. “Whereas for these concertos of course we all know the music. I really just try to feel it myself and come up with my own interpretation.”
Rachmaninoff wrote the piece after a bout of depression following the premiere of his Symphony No. 1. Things were so bad that he employed a physician named Dr. Nikolai Dahl to use hypnosis to cure his state.
“I heard the same hypnotic formula repeated day after day while I lay half asleep in the armchair in Dahl’s study,” he said. “‘You will write a Concerto … You will work with great facility … It will be excellent.’ Although it may sound incredible, this cure really helped me. By the autumn, I had finished two movements of the Concerto.”
The final concerto features three movements -Moderato, Adagio Sostenuto, and Allegro Scherzando – each of which showcases a blend of Russian melancholy and passionate Romanticism.
The first movement opens with dark chords with moving inner voices that create tension among the static melody and bass notes. Rachmaninoff wrote to his strengths, and being a tall man with large hands, he wrote in large intervals.
“Pianists of small proportions and even those of average size will find his work challenging,” Britannica explains. “The great pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy observed in an interview with England’s Gramophone magazine that for playing Rachmaninoff, he wished his fingers were a centimeter longer. Moreover, as Rachmaninoff could play both lightning-fast runs and powerful chords with equal mastery, he includes both in his piano parts, requiring a highly varied technique. For any pianist, it is not music for the faint of heart, yet the rewards are worth the challenge.”
Still, Fedorova tackles the piece with ease. As magical as the performance is, she looks back on it with mixed feelings. She was only 20 years old at the time.
“I’m not sure how happy I am with that performance now, as it’s only the second or third time I’d ever played the concerto on stage! But I do remember that there were some very special moments during the performance, between me and the conductor.”
Watch the stunning performance and follow along with the sheet music for Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18:
