It is probable that Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor has been performed and recorded more than any other piano concerto in the course of the twentieth century. This work received its first public performance by the distinguished pianist Hans von Bülow in Boston in 1875. In 1891, with Tchaikovsky conducting and Adèle aus der Ohe as soloist, it was the first concerto ever heard in Carnegie Hall.
This immensely popular work is among the first of Tchaikovsky's important compositions, and it consummately reveals not only the great warmth and vitality of the composer's inspiration, but also what the noted music scholar Abraham Veinus in his book The Concerto called Tchaikovsky's profound understanding of the rarest of artistic mysteries: the secret of direct communication.
The full score of this staple of the repertoire is reprinted here from an authoritative early edition. Musicians and music lovers will prize this handsome and inexpensive edition of one of the most beloved of all concertos.