Concerto is at heart of national consciousness

OVER the past 28 years, the Classic FM Hall of Fame has provided a reasonably robust indication of our classical music tastes. Looking at the statistics, we can tell that cinematic music has become ever more popular (John Williams is the No1 contemporary composer), while Baroque music – although still featured heavily in the top 100 – has slipped down the rankings, with the highest entry for Mozart – the Clarinet Concerto – coming in at number 14.

But some things remain a reassuring constant, and it is no surprise that Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto has taken the top slot again – for the second time in a row, and the 10th in the poll’s history. The 2nd is one of those pieces – like Spring from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or Nimrod from Elgar’s Enigma Variations which has seeped into our consciousness.

I love the 2nd Piano Concerto, but that is an unfashionable view. Too romantic, too hackneyed say those who would prescribe you an evening with Arnold Schoenberg.

Some pianists hate it, too. “The piano repertoire is vast and there is no time to waste on Rachmaninov,” said the great Alfred Brendel. I doubt he was daunted by the 2nd’s technical challenges, but it is notorious – both in the physical dexterity required with those huge hand leaps and in its emotional complexity – something that a young pianist with little life experience might struggle with.

Of course, when we talk about Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto we are really only thinking about the 2nd movement used so beautifully in David Lean’s Brief Encounter to unbutton the repressed feelings of Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson. It was also appropriated by Eric Carmen (who died last month) for the 1970s tearjerker, All By Myself, the go-to track for Bridget Jones when she is home alone with a bottle of Chardonnay.

The Telegraph’s classical music critic Ivan Hewett perfectly summed up Rachmaninov’s gifts when he featured in the Proms last year: “He goes straight for the emotional jugular, through a melodic gift which is second to none, a tumultuous pianistic virtuosity and a darkly rich harmonic palette.”

Nowhere are these words more true than in the 2nd Piano Concerto, a consummation of his talents, and a constant presence in our cultural lives.