When Gil Shaham takes the stage with the Charlotte Symphony for our Annual Gala Concert on September 18, he'll perform one of the most beloved works in the violin repertoire: Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major.
Shaham has loved the piece since childhood, when he first discovered a recording by Isaac Stern. "I used to listen to that...over and over," he recalls. Today, he counts the concerto among the defining works of the violin literature:
Shaham has loved the piece since childhood, when he first discovered a recording by Isaac Stern. "I used to listen to that...over and over," he recalls. Today, he counts the concerto among the defining works of the violin literature:
"I think this piece qualifies as being iconic. I know that's a term that people overuse. But writing for the violin before Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, or after, there's a clear point of demarcation. Here is where things change." - Gil Shaham
When it was premiered in 1878, the concerto faced skepticism. The performance inspired one of the most scathing and infamous reviews in music history. For months after the concert, Tchaikovsky carried a copy of the review with him and could recite Eduard Hanslick's caustic words by heart:
"Friedrich Vischer once observed, speaking of obscene pictures, that they stink to the eye. Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto gives us, for the first time, the hideous notion that there can be music that sinks to the ear." - Eduard Hanslick
Yet within a few years, violinists like Leopold Auer and Mischa Elman championed the work's brilliance, and the concerto soon became a cornerstone of the repertoire.
What makes it so enduring? For Shaham, it's Tchaikovsky's unmatched ability to capture the full range of human emotion. "The expression and the emotion of the music was just on a different level of anything that was written before. He really felt that music can take you to all extremes of emotion. He was out there to push the limits."
What makes it so enduring? For Shaham, it's Tchaikovsky's unmatched ability to capture the full range of human emotion. "The expression and the emotion of the music was just on a different level of anything that was written before. He really felt that music can take you to all extremes of emotion. He was out there to push the limits."
Experience Gil Shaham's dazzling performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with Music Director Kwamé Ryan and the Charlotte Symphony in an all-Tchaikovsky program.
This post includes excerpts from "The Concerto That Changed Everything for Violinists," a WRTI Arts Desk feature by Susan Lewis.
