Progetto Martha Argerich

italiano

Works

Piotr Ilic Ciajkovskij

Concerto per pianoforte e orchestra n. 2 in sol maggiore op. 44

 

Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 2 in G Major, for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 44, was begun in October 1879, completed the following year and performed for the first time in New York on 12 November 1881, with Madeleine Schiller as soloist. First reactions were rather cold, probably because of the work’s length but also because of a certain generic quality to the music, especially in the first movement, Allegro brillante. Nevertheless, even in this concerto there is no lack of felicitous melodies, as, for instance, in the touching middle movement, Andante non troppo (D Major), in which violin and cello appear as soloists alongside the piano. The best movement, however, is probably the finale, Allegro con fuoco, in G Major – a sort of light, frolicking scherzo, surely worthy of Tchaikovsky at his best.

1. Allegro brillante
2. Andante non troppo
3. Allegro con fuoco

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