Shostakovich Piano Concerto 2 Analysis

To understand the analysis, one must understand the timeline. 1957 was the year after the "Thaw" began following Khrushchev’s secret speech denouncing Stalin. Shostakovich, who had been forced to publicly repent for his Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in 1936, finally breathed a little easier. However, the concerto isn't celebratory in a bombastic, Prokofiev-esque way. It is intimate.