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Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor
Composed: 1874
Premiered: 1875, Boston
Duration: 32 minutes

Ask anyone to hum a tune from a piano concerto, and chances are they will come up with the opening of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, one of the most memorable melodies ever composed. It is actually in D-flat Major – the home key of B-flat Minor is established after it is finished. The concerto continues with an abundance of striking tunes, but after the introduction this one is not heard again, nor does it contribute to any development. Melody and orchestral colour were the strongest features of Tchaikovsky’s style, particularly in his earlier works. 

This piano concerto was composed in 1874, during the gap between the completion of the opera Vakula the Smith and the announcement that it had won first prize in a competition. It was eventually performed, but it was not a success. Tchaikovsky originally intended to dedicate the concerto to Nicholas Rubinstein, the director of the Moscow Conservatory, and expected that he would be the first to perform it. But when he played it for himbefore he orchestrated it, Rubinstein’s response was scathing – “unplayable, chaotic, vulgar”. He would not play it unless it was completely rewritten.

Tchaikovsky, sensitive to criticism, was depressed but refused to make any changes. Instead, he sent it with a dedication to the famous German pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow. Von Bülow took it on an American tour and played the concerto for the first time in Boston in October 1875. It was a huge success with the public there and again in New York, though the newspaper critics, then and later, had reservations. This event opened American doors to Tchaikovsky and to Russian music in general. 

The first performance in Moscow was played by the brilliant young pianist Sergei Taneyev and conducted by Rubinstein, who overcame his dislike of the work. In due course, Tchaikovsky published a revised version of the concerto. This incorporated quite a lot of changes suggested by various pianists, including some of those demanded by Rubinstein after first hearing it. It is still technically challenging, but modern pianists find it quite playable. 

Program note by the late Dr. C.W. Helleiner

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor
Composed: 1874
Premiered: 1875, Boston
Duration: 32 minutes

Ask anyone to hum a tune from a piano concerto, and chances are they will come up with the opening of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, one of the most memorable melodies ever composed. It is actually in D-flat Major – the home key of B-flat Minor is established after it is finished. The concerto continues with an abundance of striking tunes, but after the introduction this one is not heard again, nor does it contribute to any development. Melody and orchestral colour were the strongest features of Tchaikovsky’s style, particularly in his earlier works. 

This piano concerto was composed in 1874, during the gap between the completion of the opera Vakula the Smith and the announcement that it had won first prize in a competition. It was eventually performed, but it was not a success. Tchaikovsky originally intended to dedicate the concerto to Nicholas Rubinstein, the director of the Moscow Conservatory, and expected that he would be the first to perform it. But when he played it for himbefore he orchestrated it, Rubinstein’s response was scathing – “unplayable, chaotic, vulgar”. He would not play it unless it was completely rewritten.

Tchaikovsky, sensitive to criticism, was depressed but refused to make any changes. Instead, he sent it with a dedication to the famous German pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow. Von Bülow took it on an American tour and played the concerto for the first time in Boston in October 1875. It was a huge success with the public there and again in New York, though the newspaper critics, then and later, had reservations. This event opened American doors to Tchaikovsky and to Russian music in general. 

The first performance in Moscow was played by the brilliant young pianist Sergei Taneyev and conducted by Rubinstein, who overcame his dislike of the work. In due course, Tchaikovsky published a revised version of the concerto. This incorporated quite a lot of changes suggested by various pianists, including some of those demanded by Rubinstein after first hearing it. It is still technically challenging, but modern pianists find it quite playable. 

Program note by the late Dr. C.W. Helleiner