NSO’s Choice
Russian Riches
2017-02-24 Fri 19:30 | National Concert Hall | 400 700 1000 1200 1500 | Buy |
ELISSO VIRSALADZE, piano
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23, B-flat minor
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 1, Op. 13, D minor
German conductor Gabriel Feltz leads a program that includes two Firsts: Tchaikovsky’s best-known piano concerto and Rachmaninoff’s least-known symphony. Both are works that have enriched the Russian repertory for many years. Tchaikovsky’s super-popular Piano Concerto No. 1 concludes with the soloist roaring up and down the keyboard in a stunning display of pianistic pyrotechnics guaranteed to elicit thunderous applause from a super-charged audience. Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony had such a disastrous premiere that the composer nearly gave up composing entirely. But this was due to inadequate rehearsal and a totally inept conductor, not to the music! Hear for yourself what a glowing score this symphony really is when played properly. The opening work on the concert, the haunting Fairytale Poem by a leading modern Russian composer, Sofia Gubaidulina, is a short piece about the unlikely adventures of a piece of chalk, which serves as a metaphor for the destiny of a creative artist.