Sergei Prokofiev

Interestingly there are two different versions of Prokofiev’s second piano concerto the first written between 1912 and 1913 the second written in 1923. However during the Russian Civil War the original manuscript of the Concerto was destroyed in a fire in Prokofiev’s apartment in St. Petersburg. In 1923 he recreated the score from memory effectively composing the second edition of the work which was very different. Prokofiev wrote to a friend: I have so completely rewritten the second concerto that it might be considered the fourth (his third piano concerto having been written in the meantime).At the time of composition the concerto's wild temperamentleft some exalted whereas others were horrified by the jarring and at the time futuristic sound. Today however it is generally recognised as a masterpiece and is one of the most virtuosic works in the piano concerto repertoire.Available here is the Hawkes Pocket Score edition (No.877) of Prokoviev’s virtuosic Piano Concerto No.2 in G minor Op.16 and is ideal for study and perusal usage.