PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23 (1875)
Today it’s hard to believe that Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 wasn’t always on everyone’s hit parade. The American public took the concerto to its collective heart—along with Van Cliburn, who played it to win the First International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in the Soviet Union in 1958. He was the first American to do so—an unwelcome event in the Cold War rivalry between two superpowers. But the concerto wasn’t always a winner. When the composer played it for Nikolai Rubinstein, the piano virtuoso remained silent at first, then, according to the composer, verbally assaulted it, proclaiming it “worthless, absolutely unplayable, …trivial, common;…only one or two pages are worth anything; the rest had better be destroyed.” Though understandably shaken, Tchaikovsky remained defiant and vowed, “I won’t change a single note.” And the world is the richer for it. He dedicated the concerto to the famed conductor/pianist Hans von Bülow, who premiered it in 1875 in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a triumph. Its dazzling pyrotechnics and soaring melodies have guaranteed it a permanent place in the repertoire of all pianists and endeared it to audiences for more than 130 years. Even the detractor Rubinstein eventually was conquered by its undeniable beauty and performed it many times.

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Manfred Symphony after Byron (1885)
The English Romantic poet George Gordon Noël, Lord Byron created the character of Manfred—an outsider, passionate in living life, defiant. He published Manfred in 1817, a “dramatic poem” inspired by Goethe’s monumental verse drama, Faust. Tchaikovsky found in Manfred a kindred spirit and calls on his own “inner voice” to bring his story to vivid musical life. Based on a scenario by the Russian critic Vladimir Stasov and then worked out in minute detail by Mily Balakirev (including even tempos, key signatures and possible scoring for the movements!), Tchaikovsky’s brooding score portrays the torment of the solitary hero as he searches for peace. But while the soul of Byron’s protagonist goes to an unknown fate, Tchaikovsky let Manfred find redemption—amid organ chords and a shattering dies irae (“Day of Wrath,” from the Latin Requiem Mass). Some of the composer’s explanatory notes for the four movements of his dramatic symphony are excerpted here: “I. Manfred wanders in the Alps. His life is broken, his obsessive, fateful questions remain unanswered; in life nothing remains for him except memories. From time to time memories of his ideal, Astarte, creep in upon him. Memories, thoughts—burn, gnaw at him. He seeks and begs for oblivion, but no one can give him this. II. The fairy of the Alps appears to Manfred in a rainbow from the spray of the waterfall. III. The way of life of the Alpine hunters, full of simplicity, good nature... a quiet, idyllic adagio incorporating Manfred’s theme, which, like an ideée fixe, must infiltrate the whole symphony. IV. A wild, unbridled Allegro, full of savage audacity. Scene in the subterranean halls of the infernal Arimanes. Manfred appears, arousing an outburst of the subterranean spirits. And finally the summons and appearance of Astarte … light, limpid as the air… the diablerie comes again, finishing Largo—Death of Manfred.” The New York Philharmonic gave the U.S. premiere of the Manfred Symphony in 1886, just a year after it was composed. What audiences love about Tchaikovsky is all here…lustrous sonorities, intense drama, and powerful emotions.

Lorin Maazel, who has led more than 150 orchestras in more than 5,000 opera and concert performances, became Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in September 2002. His appointment came 60 years after his debut with the Orchestra at Lewisohn Stadium, then the Orchestra’s summer venue. As Music Director he has conducted seven World Premiere–NewYork Philharmonic Commissions, including the Pulitzer Prize– and Grammy Award–winning On the Transmigration of Souls by John Adams; Stephen Hartke’s Symphony No. 3; and Melinda Wagner’s Trombone Concerto. He has led cycles of works by Brahms, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky; and he conducted the Orchestra’s inaugural performances in the DG Concerts series — a groundbreaking initiative to offer downloadable New York Philharmonic concerts exclusively on iTunes.

Mr. Maazel has taken the Orchestra on numerous international tours, including the historic visit to Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in February 2008 — the first performance there by an American orchestra, and an event watched around the world. Other recent tours have included Asia 2008 — to Taipei, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing; the May 2007 Tour of Europe; the November 2006 visit to Japan and Korea; the Philharmonic Tour of Italy in June 2006, sponsored by Generali; the two-part 75th Anniversary European Tour to thirteen cities in five countries in the fall of 2005; and residencies in Cagliari, Sardinia, and at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado.

In addition to the New York Philharmonic, Mr. Maazel is music director of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain. A frequent conductor on the world’s operatic stages, he returned to The Metropolitan Opera in January 2008 for the first time in 45 years to conduct Wagner’s Die Walküre.

Prior to his tenure as New York Philharmonic Music Director, Mr. Maazel led more than 100 performances of the Orchestra as a guest conductor. He served as music director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1993–2002), and has held positions as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1988–96); general manager and chief conductor of the Vienna Staatsoper (1982–84); music director of The Cleveland Orchestra (1972–82); and artistic director and chief conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1965–71). He is an honorary member of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and an honorary member of the Vienna Philharmonic. On February 17, 2009, he will be named a Commander of the Legion of Honor by the government of France.

A second-generation American, born in Paris, Mr. Maazel was raised and educated in the United States. He took his first violin lesson at age five, and first conducting lesson at seven. Between ages 9 and 15 he conducted most of the major American orchestras. In 1953 he made his European conducting debut in Catania, Italy.

Mr. Maazel is also an accomplished composer. His opera, 1984, received its world premiere on May 3, 2005, at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. It was revived in the 2007–08 season at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and has been released on DVD by Decca.

SIMON TRPČESK
Piano, born in 1979 Skopje, Macedonia
Simon Trpčeski has been thrilling audiences since he was 15 with smart and thoughtful performances of the repertoire from Bach to today’s composers. His ecstatic fans span the globe, from L.A. to London, from Kalamazoo to Kuala Lumpur to New York, where he made his Philharmonic debut in 2005 with Rachmaninoff’s famously knuckle-busting Third Piano Concerto. Listeners are amazed at his formidable technique. Growing up in a family that was musical, but not involved professionally, he was steeped in the folk music of his country; and today on most of his recital programs he includes a Macedonian piece composed for him. He began his piano studies when he was nine years old under the tutelage of a renowned Russian teacher. Now he has his own students in his studio at Skopje; “…it gives me a different pleasure from performing, because it adds a totally different dimension to what I do.” Though much sought after, he limits the number of concerts he gives each year because he believes in taking things slowly. “I’m not rushing in my life. Everything will come in its own time and I don’t want to be under pressure,” he told Pianist Magazine. “Why rush? The music is there to enjoy. And I think about the music, not the music business.”

“At the age of 32, Alexander the Great had conquered the ancient world. At the age of 26, another young Macedonian, Simon Trpčeski, seems to be well on his way to conquering today’s classical music world.” Pianist Magazine

“A genuine wunderkind, Trpceski … is really a marvel: heart-stopping technique, and a sense of exhilaration and zest that keeps listeners near the edge of their seats all evening.” Seattle Times