Dresdner Philharmonie

Programme: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C major What happens when a 29-year-old composer shifts tradition a little – and another initially considers his own work unplayable? Our concert combines two classics that did not immediately succeed. Beethoven's First Symphony starts surprisingly "wrong" and already in 1800 shows that someone here knows the rules – and consciously stretches them. Contemporaries found the work too loud and too bold. Today, it is seen as the beginning of a new musical era. Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto was initially sharply rejected by his friend Nikolai Rubinstein, who was supposed to play the premiere; even Tchaikovsky himself was initially not convinced of his composition. The work "emigrated" and celebrated its premiere in Boston of all places. Only at its second performance did it find success in Russia and today it is one of the audience's absolute favorites. The monumental beginning is as legendary as it is unique: the powerful chords do not return in the further course of the piece...