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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Piano Concerto No. 1 In B-flat minor, Op. 23 (1874–75)

Two of the most influential performers of the latter half of the 19th century, both eminent pianists as well as conductors, initially held diametrically opposed views concerning Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. First came the celebrated Russian Nikolai Rubinstein, who had founded the Moscow Conservatory where Tchaikovsky taught. It was with this generous colleague in mind that Tchaikovsky wrote the Concerto in 1874, relatively early in his career, situated between his Second and Third symphonies.


The composer later recalled how a few days after completing the piece in December he played it through for his friend, who promptly exploded that it was “impossible to play, that the passages were commonplace, clumsy, and so awkward that there was no way even to correct them, that as a composition it was bad, vulgar.” Tchaikovsky declared he would “not change a single note,” and published the Concerto the next year as it stood. (He did in fact later revise the piece twice, in 1879 and 1889.)


The enthusiastic response, in contrast, came from the great German pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow, to whom the Concerto was ultimately dedicated. Bülow told Tchaikovsky that “the ideas are so original, so noble, so powerful; the details are so interesting, and though there are many of them they do not impair the clearness and unity of the work. The form is so mature, ripe, and distinguished for style.” Bülow was the soloist at the premiere in October 1875, which took place in far off Boston, Massachusetts, and sent Tchaikovsky a telegram informing him of the enthusiastic response the piece received, so much so that he had to encore the final movement.


And it no doubt gave Tchaikovsky enormous satisfaction that Rubinstein very soon came around as well and became a staunch advocate of the Concerto. Just a month after the Boston premiere, he conducted the first performance in Moscow and later played it as piano soloist as well, including giving the Paris premiere. (On a later occasion he served as both soloist and conductor.) The Concerto quickly entered the international repertory, and it was one of the works Tchaikovsky chose to feature when he conducted concerts in New York marking the inauguration of Carnegie Hall in May 1891.


It is perhaps understandable how musicians, critics, and audiences could either be baffled or entranced by the Concerto, which, in addition to its remarked upon difficulty, has various features that made it seem unusual and modern at the time. The piece famously begins with four French horns blaring out a falling four-note motif in unison, punctuated by mighty orchestral chords (Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso). The piano soloist boldly enters with rich chords that span most of the range of the instrument against which unfolds a sweeping string melody. After this extended introduction, the tempo quickens (Allegro con spirito) for the heart of the movement. Tchaikovsky included a number of borrowed melodies in the Concerto, beginning with a Ukrainian folk tune he had heard sung by a blind beggar (“O caw, caw, black raven”).


An operatically lyrical flute melody opens the second movement (Andantino semplice), in which Tchaikovsky uses a popular French song, “One must have fun, dance, and laugh,” during the fast middle section, creating an overall ABA form. The brilliant finale (Allegro con fuoco) is a rondo with two contrasting themes, the first of them derived from another Ukrainian melody (“Go on, go on, Ivan”), the other one more relaxed.


—Christopher H. Gibbs

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Piano Concerto No. 1 In B-flat minor, Op. 23 (1874–75)

Two of the most influential performers of the latter half of the 19th century, both eminent pianists as well as conductors, initially held diametrically opposed views concerning Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. First came the celebrated Russian Nikolai Rubinstein, who had founded the Moscow Conservatory where Tchaikovsky taught. It was with this generous colleague in mind that Tchaikovsky wrote the Concerto in 1874, relatively early in his career, situated between his Second and Third symphonies.


The composer later recalled how a few days after completing the piece in December he played it through for his friend, who promptly exploded that it was “impossible to play, that the passages were commonplace, clumsy, and so awkward that there was no way even to correct them, that as a composition it was bad, vulgar.” Tchaikovsky declared he would “not change a single note,” and published the Concerto the next year as it stood. (He did in fact later revise the piece twice, in 1879 and 1889.)


The enthusiastic response, in contrast, came from the great German pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow, to whom the Concerto was ultimately dedicated. Bülow told Tchaikovsky that “the ideas are so original, so noble, so powerful; the details are so interesting, and though there are many of them they do not impair the clearness and unity of the work. The form is so mature, ripe, and distinguished for style.” Bülow was the soloist at the premiere in October 1875, which took place in far off Boston, Massachusetts, and sent Tchaikovsky a telegram informing him of the enthusiastic response the piece received, so much so that he had to encore the final movement.


And it no doubt gave Tchaikovsky enormous satisfaction that Rubinstein very soon came around as well and became a staunch advocate of the Concerto. Just a month after the Boston premiere, he conducted the first performance in Moscow and later played it as piano soloist as well, including giving the Paris premiere. (On a later occasion he served as both soloist and conductor.) The Concerto quickly entered the international repertory, and it was one of the works Tchaikovsky chose to feature when he conducted concerts in New York marking the inauguration of Carnegie Hall in May 1891.


It is perhaps understandable how musicians, critics, and audiences could either be baffled or entranced by the Concerto, which, in addition to its remarked upon difficulty, has various features that made it seem unusual and modern at the time. The piece famously begins with four French horns blaring out a falling four-note motif in unison, punctuated by mighty orchestral chords (Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso). The piano soloist boldly enters with rich chords that span most of the range of the instrument against which unfolds a sweeping string melody. After this extended introduction, the tempo quickens (Allegro con spirito) for the heart of the movement. Tchaikovsky included a number of borrowed melodies in the Concerto, beginning with a Ukrainian folk tune he had heard sung by a blind beggar (“O caw, caw, black raven”).


An operatically lyrical flute melody opens the second movement (Andantino semplice), in which Tchaikovsky uses a popular French song, “One must have fun, dance, and laugh,” during the fast middle section, creating an overall ABA form. The brilliant finale (Allegro con fuoco) is a rondo with two contrasting themes, the first of them derived from another Ukrainian melody (“Go on, go on, Ivan”), the other one more relaxed.


—Christopher H. Gibbs