CAMA Presents the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ⫽ Tuesday, January 11, 2022 ⫽ International Series at the Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara ⫽ 7:30PM

e my greatest work so far’—followed by a
corresponding dip in mood during which he
would invariably insist that his talent had
‘dried up’, or that he was ‘played out’.
Tchaikovsky began work on his B-flat
minor Piano Concerto in November 1874
and, fired by a seemingly unstoppable flow
of blinding inspiration, had it completed
within the month. Understandably excited
by his new creation, he played it through to
his friend, the distinguished pianist and pedagogue
Nikolai Rubinstein (the Concerto’s
intended dedicatee), who promptly tore the
score to shreds: ‘It appeared that my concerto
was worthless,’ ranted Tchaikovsky,
‘that it was unplayable, that the passagework
was so commonplace, unskilfully written
and awkward that it would be impossible
to put it right; that the composition itself
was bad and trivial; that I had stolen this bit
from here and that bit from there; that were
only two or three pages worth keeping, and
that the rest would have to be scrapped or
completely rewritten.’ To his eternal credit,
Tchaikovsky changed not one single note.
The Concerto was eventually premiered
in Boston, and such was its resounding success
that even Rubinstein quickly admitted
his initial error of judgement, and played
no small part in establishing Tchaikovsky’s
early reputation by taking the work on a celebrated
world tour. In a letter to his patron,
Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky revealingly
summed up his thoughts on the Concerto:
‘It is a struggle between two forces
of equal standing... a powerful orchestra,
commanding inexhaustible resources
of tone colour, against which the small,
inconspicuous, but intelligent opponent
pits its all and triumphs—provided the pianist
is talented!’
Variations on an Original Theme,
"Enigma," Op.36 (1898-1899)
Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
I. Theme
II.
CAE (Var.1)
III. HDS-P (Var.2)
IV. RBT (Var.3)
V. WMB (Var.4)
VI. RPA (Var.5)
VII. Ysobel (Var.6)
VIII. Troyte (Var.7)
IX. WN (Var.8)
X. Nimrod (Var.9)
XI. Dorabella (Var.10)
XII. GRS (Var.11)
XIII. BGN (Var.12)
XIV. ***(Var.13)
XV. EDU (Var.14)
Edward Elgar’s output during the 1890s,
save for the delightful Serenade for Strings
(1892), was dominated by choral music, including
the two oratorios, The Black Knight,
and The Light of Life. Despite their relative
success, Elgar still urgently sought the recognition
that could only be won by an indisputable
masterpiece. In 1899 he effectively
hit the jackpot with his Variations on an
Original Theme ("Enigma"), the instant success
of which ensured that he went into the
19 CAMA'S 103 RD CONCERT SEASON