
Bülow loved it, and declared that the concerto “displays such brilliance, and is such a remarkable achievement among your musical works, that you have without doubt enriched the world of music as never before. Instead Tchaikovsky sent the concerto to the eminent pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow. The two remained friends, and Tchaikovsky would dedicate six of his works to Rubinstein, most notably his Piano Trio, “to the memory of a great artist,” after Rubinstein’s untimely passing at age 45. Despite the infamous incident with Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, Rubinstein was one of the most important early champions of Tchaikovsky’s music. “Not a word, not an observation! Rubinstein was preparing his thunder.” After Tchaikovsky finished, Rubinstein declared that the concerto “was worthless, that it was impossible to play it, that its passages were clumsy, awkward, so awkward that they could not be corrected, that as a composition it was bad, that I stole from here and there, that there are only two or three pages worth preserving ” Undaunted, Tchaikovsky refused to change “a single note.” Composer, conductor, and pianist Nikolay Rubinstein. “I played the first movement,” Tchaikovsky recalled. Despite the “difficulty” with which the piece progressed, Tchaikovsky was able to complete it the following month, and he played through the new concerto for Rubinstein and some friends on Christmas Eve. I definitely want Rubinstein to play it at his concert it’s going with much difficulty…” Aged 34, he was at this time working as a professor at the still new Moscow Conservatory, and the Rubinstein he mentioned was Nikolai Rubinstein, the famous pianist and head of the Conservatory (thus, Tchaikovsky’s boss). In November 1874, Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother Anatoly, “I am now immersed in the composition of a Piano concerto. 1 is one of the most popular pieces of its kind, but it initially met with a rocky start. You Can’t Please Everyone Tchaikovsky, photographed in 1874.

In this post, discover one of history’s most popular (and unconventional) masterpieces. On November 22, 23, and 24, the Houston Symphony presents Trifonov Plays Tchaikovsky, a program featuring world-renowned virtuoso Daniil Trifonov in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.
