The second item, Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor, was composed in the summer of 1868 while he was on holiday in Denmark and is one of the cornerstones of the repertoire. Grieg's piano concerto is often compared to that Robert Schumann - it is in the same key, the opening descending flourish on the piano is similar, and the overall style is closer to Schumann than any other single composer. Grieg had heard Schumann's concerto played by Clara Schumann in Leipzig in 1858, and was greatly influenced by Schumann's style. The work also shows his interest in Norwegian folk music; the opening flourish based around a falling minor second followed by a falling major third is typical. Grieg was an excellent pianist, having been taught by Schumann's friend, Ernst Ferdinand Wenzel, but the work was premiered by Edmund Neupert; Grieg himself was engaged elsewhere.
The concert opened with the Overture to Engelbert Humperdinck's 'Hansel And Gretel', which began life as a short entertainment for a children's birthday party. This was so successful that Humperdinck immediately turned it into a full-scale opera, basing it on text by Adelheid Wette. Richard Strauss, much impressed by the score, conducted the premiere and catapulted the opera to fame. It is now regarded by many as the leading children's opera in the repertoire.
The final item, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, (Pathétique) is his final symphony, and his final completed work. It was premiered nine days before his death in 1893. Tchaikovsky said of it, "Without exaggeration, I have put my whole soul into this work." The Russian title of the symphony (Patetičeskaja) means "passionate" or "emotional", not "arousing pity". When he began sketching out the symphony, Tchaikovsky considered calling it "Programme Symphony" but "a program which will remain an enigma to all".
