After his death in 1934, the composer added the dedication "A la memoire du Grand Musicien, mon cher et inoubliable Ami, Paweł Kochański" before publishing the concerto.
[1][2] The second concerto is very different from the composer's first, following a more traditional harmonic approach, featuring extensive use of modes, and like the majority of music from Szymanowski's late period, drawing influences from Polish highlander music.
It was written shortly after the Fourth Symphony (which Szymanowski described in letters as his ”piano concerto”) which it shares many similarities with.
The concerto is in single-movement, almost rhapsodic form, although it could be divided into four major sections: It features a lengthy cadenza in the middle which provides the transition between the Andantino and Allegramente sections.
Before the premiere, Kochański suggested that Szymanowski should write a prologue to prolong the concerto to 25-30 minutes, although this never happened.