A year after the completion of his Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E major (1823), Mendelssohn wrote another concerto for two pianos. This work was premiered some years later, just weeks after the Concerto in E major}, at one of the regular Sunday musicales that were a fixture of the Mendelssohn household. It is much more than faint praise to say the oncerto in A flat major is only slightly less successful than its predecessor. On some levels, it is a more ambitious work, slightly larger in scale and conceived with a bolder harmonic sense. The work has been described as Chopinesque, especially in its middle and last movements, and, given the scintillating piano parts, this description would seem apt. Unlike Chopin's works for piano and orchestra, however, Mendelssohn's are superbly orchestrated, and the orchestra is not reduced to mere accompaniment. As in his earlier two-piano concerto, Mendelssohn opens the work with a lyrical orchestral introduction; the pianos eventually interrupt to take over the statement of the main theme. The soloists are similarly at the forefront with the arrival of the energetic second theme. The Andante is flowing and lyrical. Following the example of the earlier concerto, the finale opens with the two soloists stating a bright, lighthearted theme. Unexpected modulations move this theme through several key areas; eventually the pianos introduce the second, indeed Chopinesque, theme. The two soloists gather steam in an ever-heightening buildup of drama toward the exciting finish. Although not the breezy and effortless success of its predecessor, and lacking its impressive pianism, this composition is a notable work from the pen of the teenaged composer. Such works provide an early indication that, far from being a mere child prodigy, the young composer was on the path to creating a musical oeuvre marked by élan, inventiveness, and sensitivity.

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