Piano Concerto no 1, opus 23 – Tchaikovsky
“The Birth of Venus” (1485)
___________
if there’s a piano concerto that dominates
the 19th Century, it’s Tchaikovsky’s First
Piano Concerto, not even Beethoven’s
Fifth, to my mind, matches its celebrity,
one thinks Romantic Period, one thinks
this iconic masterpiece
Tchaikovsky had the advantage of
absorbing not only Beethoven by this
point in history, but also Chopin, the
narrative power of the former, with
the mesmerizing textures of the latter,
what could go wrong but insufficient
genius
of which Tchaikovsky manifestly had
more than plenty, enough to verily
stop your breath
many towering performers have
challenged this concerto‘s peaks,
some even historically, you’ve
heard them, I won’t reiterate
but listen to what Yuja Wang does with
this challenge, and you tell me if she
doesn’t conquer its tribulations,
despite, or abetted by, her
controversial dress
she is a vixen, manifestly, at least in,
admittedly, her attire, but should a
vixen play as brilliantly, what does
one have to counter her provocative
presentation but her innate femininity,
her, too often castigated, female pulse,
something the world could do with a
lot more of
Venus, with all her allure, was goddess
for centuries before women were
obliterated from the dominant Christian
pantheon, the Father, the Son, the Holy,
I ask you, Ghost, with no equal female
foundational representative
Yuja Wang, a modern day Venus abetted
by her evident attendant muses, the
symbolic, here, orchestra, see above,
could play nude, as far as I’m concerned,
she’d still be transcendent, and I’m not
even heterosexual
girlfriend, I say, however proper, modest,
blushing, get a grip
not to mention that Tchaikovsky is also,
in this outing, once again, astounding
R ! chard
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