Cello Concerto No. 2 (Shostakovich)
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The Cello Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Opus 126, was written by Dmitri Shostakovich in the spring of 1966 in the Crimea. Like the first concerto, it was written for Mstislav Rostropovich, who gave the premiere in Moscow under Yevgeny Svetlanov on 25 September 1966 at the composer's 60th birthday concert.
The concerto lasts around 35 minutes and has three movements:
- Largo
- Allegretto
- Allegretto
The first movement begins in melancholy mood, interrupted by the cadenza before the opening theme returns. The second movement is based on a theme from an Odessa street song, Bubliki, kupitye, bubliki. The finale begins with fanfares, then moves through lyric, march and dance sections.