London Philharmonic Orchestra | History-Making Firsts

Dvorˇák Scherzo capriccioso
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Mahler Blumine
Shostakovich Symphony No. 1

Ilyich Rivas conductor
Simon Trpcˇeski piano

The date of the premiere of his First Symphony – 12 May – would become a date of lifelong celebration for Shostakovich. The Symphony heralded a new beginning for Russian culture. Shostakovich remained proud of it all his life, a confident, individual and striking piece that you’d hardly guess was the work of a teenager. Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto changed Russian music, too – appearing in its profusion of celebratory major keys a charming counterbalance to the darkness that underlay the Russian psyche. More symphonic than Schumann’s and more sweeping than Liszt’s, Tchaikovsky’s Concerto has also proved more popular than almost any other.