The work
he story of how Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 entered the world sounds a warning to all composers to ignore those fickle critics. Keen to persuade Nikolai Rubinstein to give its premiere, Tchaikovsky played the piece from start to finish in the company of the eminent pianist. Rubinstein remained quiet throughout – before dismissing the work in no uncertain terms. The snub stung Tchaikovsky, who conveyed the details of this disastrous read-though in a letter he wrote some three years after the incident. According to the composer, Rubinstein had expressed his
