Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
- Nov 14, 2021
- 2 min read
Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23
Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Date of publication: 1875
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 is one of the most popular works of its kind. He began working on it in 1874, at the age of 34, while he was working at the newly created Moscow Conservatory. He wanted it to be played by Nikolai Rubinstein, the famous pianist and head of the Conservatory, but when Tchaikovsky played the first movement for Rubinstein, he called it “worthless,” among other unsavory titles.
Undaunted, Tchaikovsky refused to change a single note. Instead Tchaikovsky sent the concerto to the eminent pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow. Bülow loved it, and gave the world premiere in Boston the following October, where it was wildly applauded by the American audience. A few years later Rubinstein changed his mind about the piece and performed it himself.
The passionate, emotional first movement is notable for its unconventional form, which is freer and more rhapsodic than usual for a concerto of this era. This departure from tradition may have been part of what provoked Rubinstein’s ire, but it likely also stoked Bülow’s admiration; Tchaikovsky’s fantasia-like approach gives the movement a subjective, personal quality. Paralleling the first movement, the third movement begins with a lively melody based on a Ukrainian folksong. A singing, contrasting melody appears soon after in the violins. With some variations and interpolations, the two themes alternate. The trajectory of parallel minor to major is often used by composers to bring resolution to the end of a piece, but the progressive evolution of this theme through different keys is an ingenious and original technique from Tchaikovsky. After a grand crescendo and virtuoso octaves for the soloist, the theme returns for the last time, now played by the entire orchestra.
Movements:
I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito
II. Andantino semplice – Prestissimo – Tempo I
III. Allegro con fuoco – Molto meno mosso – Allegro vivo
