Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)

Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, composed in 1900 and 1901, was written after a period of severe depression and creative block following the disastrous 1897 premiere of his First Symphony, and its composition is traditionally credited in part to a course of hypnotherapy Rachmaninoff underwent with the physician Nikolai Dahl, to whom the concerto is dedicated. Rachmaninoff performed the complete work himself at its Moscow premiere in 1901. Built around sweeping, richly orchestrated melodies and a virtuosic but lyrical solo part, it became one of the most popular piano concertos ever written and helped restore Rachmaninoff's confidence and reputation as a composer.