Eduard Hanslick, a much feared critic in his time, was not very complimentary following its première: the violin was no longer being played but rather “pulled about, torn asunder, beaten black and blue”. Yet he was not able to stop the triumphal march of Tchaikovsky’s only violin concerto. Its incredible technical demands have meant that it is a true test of virtuosity. Its effectivenessis, however, mainly due to its great expressiveness – are there any violinists who do not love the lyrical melancholic “Canzonetta”? – and due to its Slavic temperament. At last and indeed for the first time this milestone in the violinist’s repertoire is now available in a text-critical edition, which is true to its original form.
愛德華·漢斯立克,這位當時令人聞風喪膽的評論家,在柴可夫斯基小提琴協奏曲首演後,並未給予多少讚揚:他認為小提琴不再是被演奏,而是被“拉扯、撕裂、打得遍體鱗傷”。然而,他卻無法阻止柴可夫斯基這首唯一的小提琴協奏曲的凱旋式發展。它對演奏技巧的極高要求,使其成為演奏家技藝的真正考驗。然而,它的成功主要歸功於其極富表現力的特質──有哪位小提琴家不喜愛那首抒情憂鬱的「小歌」呢? ——以及它所蘊含的斯拉夫風情。如今,這首小提琴曲目中的里程碑終於以忠實於原作的文本校勘版面世,這在小提琴演奏史上尚屬首次。