Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2 (original version)

[John Boyer]

It seems to me that any extended orchestral solo is just part of the job.  The first desk violin and cello are often called upon to play solos, just as the first desk wind players are.

[Ilja]

Is there any valid argument for retaining Siloti?

Not really, I think; even the "nostalgia" argument quickly dissolves as you realize that we have recordings by heavyweights such as Gilels and Cherkassky. And it really is a poor piece of work.

To be honest, I don't particularly like this concerto or really any concertante work written by Tchaikovsky; I don't think it was his strongest genre. But what Siloti did in actually making a Tchaikovsky work sound bad is quite an achievement. The other culprit in that arena is Bogatyryev, who thought his handiwork might pass for Tchaikovsky's "Seventh" symphony.