Entrée Essentials: Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1

Concertgebouw Orchestra Essentials

The Essentials series introduces you to the masterpieces you will be happy to know, performed by the world-famous Concertgebouw Orchestra and complete with a lively introduction by the incomparable Thomas Vanderveken. At Essentials we welcome a new generation of music lovers, and the concerts typically have a pleasant informal atmosphere.

Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1

Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto begins majestically, featuring both stormy and tender passages in which the pianist can display every facet of his talent, all while collaborating closely with the orchestra. The passionate concerto is quintessentially Slavic, with grand gestures and melodies running through it like deep furrows. It contains quotations from Ukrainian folk music and, oddly enough, a snippet of a French cabaret song. Hearing this magnificent work performed by the young master pianist Seong-Jin Cho and conducted by Joana Mallwitz is an opportunity not to be missed. The programme opens with another work brimming with Romanticism and stylistic quotations – the suite from Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier.

Essentials starts at 9 p.m. with an imaginative introduction to the programme (in Dutch).