Largo II

A mature and regal piano line introduces the theme of the meaning of a long-standing love. The winds and strings waste no time in reminding us that there is also sadness, turmoil and loss. The horns bring us back, back to love’s dignity and noble comfort. The strings interrupt to point out that love has its cost. After much orchestral discussion, the piano reintroduces the central theme: despite the agony, the conflict and the occasional sense of loneliness, love is the core of existence. It lifts us, as does the final bars of Largo II, to that higher plane, that place of fulfillment and peace.