Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto for Piano and Orchestra for pianists has always been the ultimate virtuoso challenge. It has been loved, performed and recorded like few works in history.

On Friday, December 1, the State Orchestra of Athens at the Concert Hall collaborates with the pianist Alexia Mouza and presents this work full of romance and sonorous sensitivity.

At the same time, it celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. The Fourth Symphony of Bruckner, who is also known as “God’s composer” is the most suitable to introduce one to his labyrinthine, but fascinating universe. He himself gave it the designation “romantic” because of the work’s intention to express unadulterated natural beauty and the joys of a simple life close to nature. On the podium, in his first collaboration with KOA, Cornelius Meister, music director of the Stuttgart State Opera and Orchestra.

The program at a glance

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 1 in B flat minor, op. 23 ANTON BRUCKNER (1824–1896) Symphony no. 4 in E flat major,

“Romantic” SOLOIST Alexia Mouza, piano

MUSICAL DIRECTION

Cornelius Meister

The soloist’s comment

I believe that Tchaikovsky is one of the composers who, with his music, has penetrated very deeply into the subconscious of human thought and existence. His melodies have a way of imprinting themselves on the mind of the listener regardless of origin and circumstance. His First Concerto is among these very works. His highly lyrical and imaginative melodies, influenced by the composer’s balletic predisposition, build a utopian world, perfectly suited to the idealistic values ​​of romanticism. “When I perform it, his music unfolds like a movie, full of little different details, colors, changes of light and expression of my inner personal world.”

For the story…

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893)

Concerto for piano and orchestra no.1 in B flat minor, opus 23

1. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito

2. Andantino semplice – Prestissimo – Tempo I

3. Allegro con fuoco

On Christmas Eve 1874, Tchaikovsky visited his friend Nikolai Rubinstein (an important pianist, composer and founder of the Moscow Conservatory) to ask his opinion on his newly written Piano Concerto, which he wanted to dedicate to him. Rubinstein disapproved of it with highly negative characterizations, and Tchaikovsky, not wanting to change anything in the work, then sent it to the great pianist and chief musician Hans von Büloff, who from the outset imbued it with “originality, power, majesty and maturity”.

Thus, he became the recipient of the relevant dedication from the composer and at the same time had the honor of his first performance, which took place on October 25, 1875 in Boston (conducted by Benjamin Johnson Lang) during his tour of America. This was the beginning of the course of a Concerto, which to this day has been loved, performed and recorded as few works in history. However, for the sake of history, it is worth mentioning that a little later Nikolai Rubinstein practically revised his initial views by becoming one of the first pianists to include it in their repertoire and also by teaching it to his brilliant students. Ultimately, the pianist’s friendship with the composer transcended the temporary shadow completely, culminating in Tchaikovsky’s decision to dedicate his next piano concerto to Rubinstein as a token of gratitude for his great performance in the First.

For pianists, the Concerto has always been a supreme virtuoso challenge; Tchaikovsky was not a profound connoisseur of the piano, and perhaps that is why the work abounds in passages that are extremely “uncomfortable” but unimaginably brilliant and powerful. On the other hand, his uniquely lyrical melodies require an absolute sonic sensitivity in their approach. The introduction of the first movement is one of the highlights of the entire work, with the piano first dynamically accompanying the orchestra’s famous melody and then presenting a virtuosic cadenza.

After the reappearance of the original melody a typical concerto sonata form unfolds, the main theme of which derives its origin from a folk tune that Tchaikovsky had heard sung by a blind beggar on the street. After the introduction (by the clarinet) of the second theme and its development, there is a stirring juxtaposition of piano and orchestra in the arrangement section and the restatement of the thematic material with the expected addition of a virtuosic and extended cadenza.

The second part opens – and ends – with an ethereal musical section. In stark contrast, the fast middle section has the character of a dynamic skertz. Its main melody comes from the French song “Il faut s’amuser, danser et rire” (“One must amuse himself by dancing and laughing”).

The finale, revised by the composer in 1889, is a dance piece full of freshness and energy, the main theme of which is based on a traditional Ukrainian song

ANTON BRUCKNER (1824 – 1896)

Symphony no. 4 in E flat major, “Romantic”

1. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell

2. Andante, quasi allegretto

3. Scherzo: Bewegt – Trio: Nicht zu schnell, keinesfalls schleppend

4. Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell

Behind the label “romantic”, which Anton Bruckner himself used for his Fourth Symphony, there is no specific extra-musical agenda; rather, the term relates to the Symphony’s broader and more obvious intention to express unadulterated natural beauty and joys of the simple life close to nature, characteristic elements also in romantic German literature at the beginning of the 19th century. Indicative of this aesthetic direction in the Symphony is the prominent use of the horn, the sound of which often resembles a hunting bugle and therefore indirectly refers to images of forests. The Fourth began to be written at the end of 1873, and a first version was ready by November of the following year. Like all the symphonies of the Austrian composer, the Fourth underwent revisions in the following years (until 1888), with the most extensive and radical one of 1878, which essentially, apart from minor later changes, resulted in the definitive version of the Symphony.

Its first performance took place on February 20, 1881 in Vienna under the direction of the great chief musician Hans Richter and was admittedly a triumph, although Bruckner’s expressed appreciation of Wagner and his unassuming, “provincial” demeanor were enough to create a rather negative climate around him and his music in Vienna at the time. For many, Romance (the nickname belongs to the composer himself) is the most accessible and accessible of Bruckner’s colossal symphonies, and perhaps that is why it remains the most popular of them to this day. Indeed, its listener is ideally introduced into the enchanting world of a composer whose music is inextricably intertwined with his deep religiosity. Although Bruckner is often associated with Mahler, in the sense that both wrote mainly grandiose symphonies, the former’s music nevertheless expresses a world very different from Mahler’s psychoanalytic, anguished world full of doubts and labyrinthine existential quests.

Bruckner’s music is imbued with the deep-rooted and unwavering metaphysical conviction of its creator, has the Doric grandeur of an imposing cathedral, and at the same time depicts the unpretentious, accessible, sometimes simplistic character of the composer himself. At the same time, the composer masterfully handles an exuberant symphonic timbre, which sometimes has something of the robust sound of his favorite church organ.

All of the above elements, evident in the Fourth Symphony, led the great composer Hugo Wolff to rightfully place Bruckner between Beethoven and Liszt – and indeed at a time when his music was still little heard and even less praised. A motif from the solo horn (under ethereal string accompaniment) opens the Symphony – some consider the solo to evoke the whistle of a steam train of the time. The woodwinds respond to the horn blowing and the music gradually builds to a rhythmic pattern typical of Bruckner’s music in general (two quarter notes followed by a quarter note). The violas introduce a new theme, expanded by the cellos and enriched counterpoint by the violins. The above thematic material is developed in the context of a sonata form. The beginning of the second part, with a moody theme in the cellos, predisposes to the development of the part as a mournful passage, but the development of the music is more reminiscent of a contemplative walk in the Austrian countryside. The violas highlight the soulful second theme.

Along the way the music slowly but surely builds towards a sonorous climax, before returning to its original, introspective mood. The following scherzo is, according to the composer’s statement, of a “hunting” character. Again the horns have their due, trumpeting the call to the hunt. The intermediate trio, utilizing the dance rhythm of the Austrian Ländler, “illustrates” the midday break from hunting for a meal in the countryside.

The finale, the longest and most complex part of the Symphony, draws on both new thematic material and motifs that have been introduced in the previous parts. A mysterious opening leads relatively soon to a solid presentation of the main theme by the orchestral forces. The lyrical, pastoral atmosphere returns in the second theme. After the expected sections of editing and re-exposing, the Symphony closes with a truly awe-inspiring coda.