7 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 7became the first of Tchaikovsky’s compositions eventually
to enter the standard international classical repertoire.
In March 1871 the audience at Moscow’s Hall of Nobil-
ity witnessed the successful performance of Tchaikovsky’s
String Quartet No. 1, and in April 1872 he finished another
opera, The Oprichnik. While spending the summer at his
sister’s estate in Ukraine, he began to work on his Symphony
No. 2 in C Minor, later dubbed The Little Russian, which
he completed later that year. The Oprichnik was first per-
formed at the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in
April 1874. His next opera, Vakula the Smith (1874), later
revised as Cherevichki (1885; The Little Shoes), was similarly
judged. In his early operas the young composer experienced
difficulty in striking a balance between creative fervour
and his ability to assess critically the work in progress.
However, his instrumental works began to earn him his rep-
utation, and, at the end of 1874, Tchaikovsky wrote his
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, a work destined for fame
despite its initial rejection by Rubinstein. The concerto
premiered successfully in Boston in October 1875, with
Hans von Bülow as the soloist. During the summer of 1875,
Tchaikovsky composed Symphony No. 3 in D Major, which
gained almost immediate acclaim in Russia.
Years of Fame
At the very end of 1875, Tchaikovsky left Russia to travel
in Europe. He was powerfully impressed by a performance
of Georges Bizet’s Carmen at the Opéra-Comique in Paris;
in contrast, the production of Richard Wagner’s Ring
cycle, which he attended in Bayreuth, Germany, during
the summer of 1876, left him cold. In November 1876 he
put the final touches on his symphonic fantasia Francesca
da Rimini, a work with which he felt particularly pleased.