NSOI: Ivanov plays Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1

National Symphony Orchestra Ireland
John Wilson conductor
Emanuil Ivanov piano 

Grażyna Bacewicz Overture 
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Rachmaninov Symphony No. 3

Winner of the Busoni International Piano Competition in 2019, Emanuil Ivanov brings dazzling technique and poetic sensitivity to Tchaikovsky’s iconic First Piano Concerto, a romantic showstopper and one of the most beloved works in the piano repertoire. Famous for its punchy brass, striking opening chords and memorable melodies, the concerto has become a favourite with audiences the world over. Originally rejected by his friend and mentor Nikolay Rubinstein for whom it was written, Tchaikovsky offered it to German pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow who premiered the work in Boston in 1875, and helped launch its enduring success.

The programme continues with Rachmaninov’s Third Symphony, written between 1935 and 1936 during Rachmaninov’s self-imposed exile from Russia after 1917. With ‘plush melodies couched in luxuriously thick harmonies’, it moves from delicate solo passages to sweeping orchestral climaxes. The concert opens with Grażyna Bacewicz’s Overture written during the German occupation of Poland. It is an intriguing piece which the BBC writes “contains a musical message of hope, with the Morse code for ‘V’, symbolising victory, (dot dot dot dash) beaten out on the timpani during the piece”. 

Under the baton of John Wilson, one of the most exciting and meticulous British conductors of his generation, National Symphony Orchestra Ireland explores the emotional depth and grandeur of these orchestral masterpieces in a performance of intense, swooning 
romanticism.

Presented by NCH