Run Time: Approx. 38 minutes

American audiences love Tchaikovsky. There’s something about his particular brand of Romanticism, with its soul‑bearing directness and obvious melancholy that just speaks to us. The love affair all began with his First Piano Concerto, the work that introduced the composer to U.S. audiences and went on to have a rich history in this country. It was premiered by Hans von Bülow and the Boston Symphony on October 25, 1875, after being initially rejected by Nikolai Rubinstein, who deemed it poorly written and unplayable. The audience rather disagreed with Rubinstein. They went wild for the work, welcoming Tchaikovsky immediately, and never looking back.

Just 16 years later, Tchaikovsky himself conducted the work for the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891, and in 1958, the concerto took on a new kind of cultural significance when Van Cliburn, an American, won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition performing it. Upon his return to the United States, Cliburn became a national figure—an American winning a Russian competition during the Cold War was something of a coup—and his recording of the concerto was the first classical album ever to go platinum. Today, it remains one of the most performed piano concertos in the world, ranking as the fourth most frequently performed piano concerto at Carnegie Hall, according to their website.

It’s easy to see why this concerto was met with such enthusiasm. Filled with dazzling virtuosity, powerful chords, and captivating melodies, it demonstrates both the excitement and virtuosity of a great piano concerto as well as Tchaikovsky himself at his very best.