Shortly after a rather unsuccessful performance of his Piano Concerto no. 1, Johannes Brahms wrote to Joseph Joachim in 1859: “... a second one will sound different”. Nevertheless, a good 20 years elapsed before that second concerto finally took form, and only in 1881 was he able to announce: “I wanted to tell you that I have written a very small piano concerto with a tiny little delicate Scherzo”. Henle's study edition of this by no means small symphonic concerto is based on the musical text in the recently published volume that is part of the Brahms Complete Edition (51486020). It is a companion to their piano reduction (51481231) and offers all those who wish to study the complex score of this great piano concerto an ideal, practical and affordable means of doing so.