Ravinia 2022, Issue 2

PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893) Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, op. 23 Scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, two tenor and one bass trombones, timpani, strings, and solo piano On Christmas Eve 1874, Tchaikovsky per- suaded Nikolai Rubinstein—pianist, teacher, and director of the Moscow Conservatory— to listen to his new, still-unorchestrated piano concerto, meeting in a classroom at the con- servatory. Tchaikovsky sought friendly tech- nical advice from his colleague before attend- ing a holiday gathering: “As I am not a pianist, I needed a virtuoso’s opinion as to what was technically impractical, difficult, unplayable, and so on. I needed a serious but friendly crit- ic, but only for the pianistic aspect of my composition. Rubinstein is not only the first pianist of Moscow, but is truly a perfect pia- nist; knowing he would be deeply offended if he thought I had ignored him, I asked him to listen to the concerto and give me an opinion on the piano part, although some inner voice protested against my selecting him as judge.” Tchaikovsky should have heeded his “inner voice,” for a most shocking scene transpired. The memory of that infamous night still burned three years later, when the composer sent a detailed account to his patron, Nadezh- da vonMeck: “I played through the first move- ment. Not a word, not a remark. …I armed myself with patience and played it through to the end. Again silence. I stood up and said, ‘Well?’ Then from the lips of [Rubinstein] poured a torrent of words. … It appeared that my concerto is worthless … as a composition it is poor, I stole this from here and that from there, there are only two or three pages that can be salvaged, and the rest must be thrown away or changed completely!” Deflated and incensed, Tchaikovsky stormed out of the room. This humiliating outburst was hardly what he expected. “I am no longer a boy trying his strength in composition—I Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1874) no longer need lessons, especially lessons expressed so sharply and in such a hostile manner.” Rubinstein tried to atone for his harshness by offering to perform the concer- to after extensive changes were made. Natu- rally, Tchaikovsky refused. “I won’t change a single note … and will print it exactly as it is now.” In his anger, Tchaikovsky withdrew the dedication to Rubinstein. After considering Sergei Taneyev, a talented student at the con- servatory, Tchaikovsky offered the concerto to the German pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow, who gave the world premiere in Boston on October 25, 1875. Rubinstein even- tually admitted his error in judgment and added the concerto to his repertoire. One can hardly fault Rubinstein for balking at the unconventional handling of concerto form. Within six measures of the introduc- tion, Tchaikovsky moved to a different key for a warm string theme accompanied by bound- ing chords in the piano. A choppy Ukrainian folk tune, which Tchaikovsky apparently heard sung by a blind man, serves as the first theme of the sonata portion. A gently synco- pated melody offers a new idea. Both themes are expanded and developed. The composer supplied an extended piano cadenza before the end. In the Andantino semplice , a Romantic mel- ody—the kind only Tchaikovsky could in- vent—emerges above quiet pizzicato chords. The mood changes for a scherzo-like theme, the French song “Il faut s’amuser, danser et rire” (“He must have a good time, dance and laugh”), which was then popular in Moscow. The delicate original theme returns. Yet another lively Ukrainian folk song, “Come, come, Ivanka,” provides the finale’s opening theme. Boisterous transitional mate- rial recalls the spirit of a Cossack dance, and then the music becomes more lyrical and ex- pressive. These two main themes return often, but in varied forms. A flashy coda concludes the concerto. –Program notes © 2022 Todd E. Sullivan MARIN ALSOP, conductor For Marin Alsop’s biography, see page 43. STEWART GOODYEAR, piano Born and raised in Toronto, Stewart Good- year had become enamored of the piano by age 3 and soon began recreating tunes by ear. Listening to his late father’s record collec- tion filled with Beethoven and Tchaikovsky works—and notably a box set of Beethoven’s sonatas played by Vladimir Ashkenazy— Goodyear resolved from a young age to be- come a classical musician, matriculating from an all-boys choir school to Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music in his teens. He con- tinued studies at the Curtis Institute of Mu- sic with Leon Fleisher, Gary Graffman, and Claude Frank, and then atThe Juilliard School with Oxana Yablonskaya, under whose guid- ance he completed a master’s degree in piano performance. Also an accomplished impro- viser and composer, Goodyear has performed with and been commissioned by many of the world’s major orchestras and chamber music organizations. In 2019, Orchid Classics re- leased his recording of Callaloo , his original suite for piano and orchestra, with Chineke! and conductor Wayne Marshall, also featur- ing his own piano sonata. His recent com- missions include a piano quintet for the Pen- derecki String Quartet and a solo piano work for the Honens Piano Competition. Good- year’s discography includes Beethoven’s com- plete piano sonatas and concertos, as well as concertos by Tchaikovsky, Grieg, and Rach- maninoff, solo piano works by Ravel, and an album titled For Glenn Gould , on which he combines repertoire from the fellow Canadi- an’s Montreal and United States debuts. The New York Times praised his solo piano tran- scription of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker as one of the best recordings of 2015. His latest album, Phoenix , includes Mussorgsky’s Pic- tures at an Exhibition and his own Congotay . Having been featured with the New York, Los Angeles, and Royal Liverpool Philharmon- ics; Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras; and Atlanta, Baltimore, Bournemouth, Chi- cago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco Symphonies, among many other ensembles, in the past year he made his Boston debut at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and also debuted with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. Stewart Goodyear first appeared at Ravinia in 2000 with a solo program, and tonight he is mak- ing his first return to the festival. PAVILION 11:00 AM SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022 LAURIE BERKNER 9:30–10:45 AM Visit the KidsLawn at the north corner of the park (see map inside the back cover) for family fun with interactive, large-scale percussion instruments and more activites, including a performance by NANNY NIKKI RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 4 – JULY 17, 2022 36