Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor / Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor

Featuring

Leif Segerstam
Roland Pöntinen
Bamberger Symphoniker
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Edvard Grieg

Did you know?

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Performer Biography

Leif Segerstam, the conductor on this recording, is also a prolific composer who has played and conducted his own music worldwide.

Composition History

Both Tchaikovsky's and Grieg's piano concertos, featured on this album, had their first performances influenced by the Russian brothers Nicolai and Anton Rubinstein.

Notable Performances

Franz Liszt, the great pianist/composer, played Grieg's Piano Concerto at sight in Rome in 1870, even correcting a note in the orchestra part during his performance.

Critical Reception

Nicolai Rubinstein, director of the Moscow Conservatory, initially criticized Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto as "no good at all" and "impossible to play," but later learned and performed it frequently.

Performer Biography

Roland Pöntinen, the pianist on this recording, debuted with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at age 17 and has since toured extensively as a soloist and chamber musician.

Notable Performances

Hans von Bülow, a pianist who showed great sympathy for Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto, gave its first performance in Boston in October 1875.

Composer Biography

Edvard Grieg was not typically an exponent of large, symphonic forms, but rather a brilliant miniaturist, making his Piano Concerto a notable exception.