# Ashkenazy and the Tchaikovsky concerto



## DavidA

When Ashkenazy was told to take part in the 1962 Tchaikovsky competition by the Soviet authorities (eventually won jointly by him and Ogdon) he objected saying that he did not care to play the concerto as his hands were too small for the large chords. I've always thought this strange that a man who made many recordings of the Rachmaninov concertos could say such a thing. Can those of you who know more about piano technique than me comment on this. Was it a valid point or was it an excuse as he didn't\t want to take part?


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## flamencosketches

Ashkenazy rolls those big chords at the beginning of Rachmaninov 2, something I've never heard any other pianist do. I'm sure it's true that he doesn't have big hands, but there's a way to make it work regardless. It's possible he just doesn't like the concerto.


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## Guest

In addition to rolling big chords, he sometimes redistributes notes between the hands, and he has admitted that he doesn't always play all the notes in Rachmaninoff. Some of Tchaikovsky's writing is a bit awkward, but it's certainly not harder than Rachmaninoff's. Sounds like an excuse to me.


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## pianozach

You haven't heard Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in Bb Minor until you've heard it in its original 4/4


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## Guest

pianozach said:


> You haven't heard Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in Bb Minor until you've heard it in its original 4/4


I need to unhear that, but I can't.


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## Vahe Sahakian

Tchaikovsky piano concerto #1 was the very first LP that I bought some 65 years ago, a 10" vinyl with Ania Dofmann pianist, and I played it so many times that I developed a serious dislike of this concerto, but I am slowly beginning to come to terms with this work, my favorite performance is Emil Gilels with Fritz Reiner conducting CSO, it is an amazing collaboration recorded in the fine acoustics of CSO before its acoustics were permanently destroyed in a remodeling project, and for Emil Gilels all I can say, WOW.


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## joen_cph

Ashkenazy recorded it immediately afterwards with Ivanov


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