Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor played by Eileen Joyce with the Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Norman Del Mar
"It appeared that my concerto was worthless and unplayable, that the passages were manufactured and withal so clumsy as to be beyond correction, that the composition itself was bad, trivial and commonplace".
Thus, and in indignation, did Tchaikovsky describe how his first piano concerto was received by the great virtuoso-and his friend-Nicholas Rubinstein who lashed at the work until he resembled Zeus hurling thunder-bolts.
But despite this dismal debut the Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor has become the most celebrated-some would say the most notorious-in the repertoire. Rubinstein admitted that his immediate impression was wrong and eventually became the foremost exponent of the work in Europe.
He had called it 'unplayable' and not without cause. The score contains what Eric Blom has described as "fearful handfuls for the pianist to tackle, some terrifying runs in four octaves and many breakneck jumps....."