Quick Facts
- Two-movement piece for piano and orchestra:
- Quasi Rondo
- *The first movement contains an alternate ending so that it may be played separately
- Contrastes. Andante cantabile—Molto vivace
- Quasi Rondo
- Written in 1884
- Premiered in Moscow in 1885 at the Russian Musical Society with pianist Sergey Taneyev, conducted by Max Erdmannsdörfer
- *Tchaikovsky arranged a version of the piece for two pianos while simultaneously orchestrating the original version
- Dedicated to pianists Sophie Menter (orchestra version) and Anna Esipova (piano arrangement)1
About the Piece
- Tchaikovsky initially conceived of a piano concerto for this work inspired by the playing of pianist Eugen d’Albert (a pupil of Liszt). However, the composer wanted to merge the slow movement with the finale, resulting in a 2-movement piece. The description, “Fantasia,” also left room for additional experimentation.
- Unfortunately, d’Albert was unavailable to play the premiere, so Tchaikovsky brought on Sergey Taneyev for the task instead.
- Tchaikovsky added “Contrastes” to the second movement to signal to listeners his deviation from compositional norms.
“[Concert Fantatia’s] point is virtuosity, echoing a time when audiences were less concerned about what was played than how.”
Grove Music Online 2
- While ultimately successful and regularly performed following its premiere, Concert Fantasia fell into obscurity following the composer’s death.3
Sources
- Concert Fantasia, Op.56 (Tchaikovsky, Pyotr), IMSLP, accessed July 6, 2023, https://imslp.org/wiki/Concert_Fantasia,Op.56(Tchaikovsky,_Pyotr).
- Roland John Wiley, “Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Il′yich,” Grove Music Online (2001),
accessed July 6, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051766. - Marina Frolova-Walker, Notes in accompanying booklet, Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos performed by Stephen Hough and the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä, Hyperion 67711/2, 2010, compact disc.
Cut IDs
18514