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Concerto no. 1 in B-flat Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 23
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840 in Votinsk, Russia and died on November 6, 1893 in Saint Petersburg. He remains one of the most popular composers of all time, beloved especially for his symphonies, ballets, and concertos. His Piano Concerto No. 1 was composed in 1874 and received its first performance in Boston on October 25, 1875 with Hans von Bülow as soloist and Benjamin Johnson Lang conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, and strings.

The first of Tchaikovsky’s piano concertos continues to hold a special place in the hearts of performers and listeners alike. Tchaikovsky had virtually completed the piece by Christmas Eve of 1874, and he eagerly played it for his friend and colleague, Nicolai Rubinstein, hoping to gain his friend’s advice on the practicality of the piano passagework. Rubinstein’s opinion was important to the composer, not only on a personal level, but because Rubinstein was a pianist of considerable influence. Indeed, Tchaikovsky hoped that Rubinstein would agree to perform the work. How bitter, then, must have been the composer’s reaction to his friend’s torrent of harsh criticism, declaring the work to be poorly written for the piano, and even accusing Tchaikovsky of stealing melodies from other composers.

There may have been a modicum of truth in the first accusation, as the composer later revised the solo part (in 1876 and 1889) based upon the suggestions of other pianists who performed the piece. As to the charge of theft, what Rubinstein may have noted was Tchaikovsky’s use of Ukrainian folk tunes in the outer movements, as well as of a French song, Il faut s’amuser, danser et rire, in the second movement. Tchaikovsky must have realized that the piece was essentially correct as he had originally written it in most other respects. Indeed, the great pianist and conductor, Hans von Bülow, who gave the Piano Concerto its first performance in Boston with Benjamin Johnson Lang conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra, cabled Tchaikovsky with the good news of the work’s immediate success. Even Rubinstein found it in his heart to apologize to Tchaikovsky for his crude chastisements, eventually both conducting and performing the work in Moscow and elsewhere. Posterity, of course, has deemed the work the Romantic piano concerto par excellence.

One of the work’s most intriguing aspects is the fact that its famous opening theme from the first movement—perhaps the Concerto’s most memorable and beloved feature—disappears completely after its opening statements. Tchaikovsky compensates for this disappearance by rewarding the patient listener with a lush romantic theme in the last movement.

I leave the final word about Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 to Paul Henry Lang, who wrote the following in the preface of The Concerto: 1800–1900, a statement that succinctly identifies this piece’s enduring appeal:

The secret of [its] enormous and lasting success rests on the combination of sweepingly brilliant writing for the solo instrument with melting, long-grained ultra-Romantic melodies, and even with popular Russian tunes, all of it skillfully kept in the clear—nothing is ever covered or obscured here—and the whole wrapped in a lively and colorful orchestral garb. . . . No pianist can consider himself arrivé until he can launch successfully into the crashing chords, the racing octaves, and the bracing runs of this world-conquering concerto.

Program Note by David B. Levy, © 2007/2017/2026.

Concerto no. 1 in B-flat Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 23
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840 in Votinsk, Russia and died on November 6, 1893 in Saint Petersburg. He remains one of the most popular composers of all time, beloved especially for his symphonies, ballets, and concertos. His Piano Concerto No. 1 was composed in 1874 and received its first performance in Boston on October 25, 1875 with Hans von Bülow as soloist and Benjamin Johnson Lang conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, and strings.

The first of Tchaikovsky’s piano concertos continues to hold a special place in the hearts of performers and listeners alike. Tchaikovsky had virtually completed the piece by Christmas Eve of 1874, and he eagerly played it for his friend and colleague, Nicolai Rubinstein, hoping to gain his friend’s advice on the practicality of the piano passagework. Rubinstein’s opinion was important to the composer, not only on a personal level, but because Rubinstein was a pianist of considerable influence. Indeed, Tchaikovsky hoped that Rubinstein would agree to perform the work. How bitter, then, must have been the composer’s reaction to his friend’s torrent of harsh criticism, declaring the work to be poorly written for the piano, and even accusing Tchaikovsky of stealing melodies from other composers.

There may have been a modicum of truth in the first accusation, as the composer later revised the solo part (in 1876 and 1889) based upon the suggestions of other pianists who performed the piece. As to the charge of theft, what Rubinstein may have noted was Tchaikovsky’s use of Ukrainian folk tunes in the outer movements, as well as of a French song, Il faut s’amuser, danser et rire, in the second movement. Tchaikovsky must have realized that the piece was essentially correct as he had originally written it in most other respects. Indeed, the great pianist and conductor, Hans von Bülow, who gave the Piano Concerto its first performance in Boston with Benjamin Johnson Lang conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra, cabled Tchaikovsky with the good news of the work’s immediate success. Even Rubinstein found it in his heart to apologize to Tchaikovsky for his crude chastisements, eventually both conducting and performing the work in Moscow and elsewhere. Posterity, of course, has deemed the work the Romantic piano concerto par excellence.

One of the work’s most intriguing aspects is the fact that its famous opening theme from the first movement—perhaps the Concerto’s most memorable and beloved feature—disappears completely after its opening statements. Tchaikovsky compensates for this disappearance by rewarding the patient listener with a lush romantic theme in the last movement.

I leave the final word about Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 to Paul Henry Lang, who wrote the following in the preface of The Concerto: 1800–1900, a statement that succinctly identifies this piece’s enduring appeal:

The secret of [its] enormous and lasting success rests on the combination of sweepingly brilliant writing for the solo instrument with melting, long-grained ultra-Romantic melodies, and even with popular Russian tunes, all of it skillfully kept in the clear—nothing is ever covered or obscured here—and the whole wrapped in a lively and colorful orchestral garb. . . . No pianist can consider himself arrivé until he can launch successfully into the crashing chords, the racing octaves, and the bracing runs of this world-conquering concerto.

Program Note by David B. Levy, © 2007/2017/2026.