Beethoven's ‘Eroica’ and Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto

About the Event

Last summer she impressed with her solo recital in the Kleine Zaal this year the engaging piano virtuoso Marie‐Ange Nguci returns to The Concertgebouw with Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, a favorite masterpiece with a challenging solo part. Equally heroic is Beethoven's imposing Third Symphony.

Beethoven's “Eroica
Actually, Beethoven wanted to dedicate his heroic Third symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte, who at the time was seen as the liberator of the people. He came back to that when Napoleon, in his delusions of grandeur, had crowned himself emperor in May 1804. Furious, Beethoven crossed out Napoleon's name in his manuscript. The new nickname “Eroica” perfectly suits the revolutionary music full of surprising twists and impetuous accents.

Marie‐Ange Nguci plays Tchaikovsky
Marie‐Ange Nguci, 'a pianist whose head, heart and hands are in perfect balance', returns to The Concertgebouw with Tchaikovsky's challenging First Piano Concerto. When Tchaikovsky proudly showed his new creation to the famous pianist and composer Nikolai Rubinstein in 1874, he had to swallow his tongue: his friend called the concerto 'miserable and unplayable'. A total misjudgment on Rubinstein's part, as it has since become one of the most favorite piano concertos ever written, thanks in part to the French, Russian and Ukrainian folk tunes that Tchaikovsky masterfully incorporated into the impressive solo part. And, of course, thanks to the impressive intro of the horns!