The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 by Johannes Brahms, is separated by a gap of 22 years from his Piano Concerto No. 1. Brahms began work on it in 1878 and completed the piece in 1881 while in Pressbaum near Vienna, and dedicated it to his teacher, Eduard Marxsen.
The piece is in four movements, rather than the three typical of concertos in the Classical and Romantic periods:
1. Allegro non troppo (B flat major) 2. Allegro appassionato (D minor) 3. Andante (B flat major/F sharp major) 4. Allegretto grazioso (B flat major)
The extra movement makes the concerto considerably longer than most other concertos written up to that time; a typical performance lasts around 50 minutes.
