S. Prokofiev : Concerto no. 2 op. 16 in G minor - 2nd mov. (Vinnitskaya)

Piano : Anna Vinnitskaya
Deutsches Symphonie Orchester with Gilbert Varga
The scherzo of this concerto is of an exceptionally strict form considering the piano part. The right and left hand play a stubborn unison, almost 1500 semiquavers each, literally without a moment's pause: Robert Layton describes the soloist in this movement being like "some virtuoso footballer who retains the initiative while the opposing team (the orchestra) all charge after him". At around ten notes a second and with hardly any variations in speed, this movement lasts circa two-and-a-half minutes and is an unusual concentration challenge to the pianist. It displays the motor line of the five "lines" (characters) Prokofiev describes in his own music. (Other such pieces include Toccata in D minor and the last movement of Piano Sonata No. 7). One fleeting motif, to make a major appearance in the final movement, appears (fig. 39 in the score) in the cellos' part - "a chromatically inflected triplet plus quaver, played twice before tailing off".