No one could blame the composer for being offended and hurt.  He at once erased the name of Nicholas Rubinstein from the title page and dedicated the work to Hans von Billow, who not long after performed it with tremendous success in America, where he was on tour.  When we think of all the pianists who have won acclaim in this temperamental, inspiring work, from Carreno to Percy Grainger, to mention two who have aroused special enthusiasm by their thrilling performance of it, we can but wonder that his own countrymen were so short sighted at the time it was composed.  Later on Nicholas Rubinstein gave a superb performance of the Concerto in Moscow, thus making some tardy amends for his unkindness.

Tschaikowsky was now thirty-five.  Most of his time was given to the Conservatoire, where he often worked nine hours a day.  Besides, he had written a book on harmony, and was contributing articles on music to two journals.  In composition he had produced large works, including up to this time, two Symphonies, two Operas, the Concerto, two String Quartets and numerous smaller pieces.  To accomplish such an amount of work, he must have possessed immense energy and devotion to his ideals.

One of the operas just mentioned was entitled “Vakoula the Smith.”  It bears the date of 1874, and was first offered in competition with others.  The result was that it not only was considered much the best work of them all but it won both the first and second prizes.  “Vakoula” was splendidly mounted and performed in St. Petersburg, at the Marinsky Theater at least seventeen times.  Ten years later, in January 1887, it appeared again.  The composer meanwhile had re-written a good part of it and now called it “Two Little Shoes.”  This time Tschaikowsky was invited to conduct his own work.  The invitation filled him with alarm, for he felt he had no gift in that direction, as he had tried a couple of times in the early years of his career and had utterly failed.  However, he now, through the cordial sympathy of friends, decided to make the attempt.  Contrary to his own fears, he obtained a successful performance of the opera.

It proved an epoch-making occasion.  For this first success as conductor led him to undertake a three months’ tour through western Europe in 1888.  On his return to St. Petersburg he conducted a program of his own compositions for the Philharmonic Society, which was also successful, in spite of the intense nervousness which he always suffered.  As a result of his concert he received offers to conduct concerts in Hamburg, Dresden, Leipsic, Vienna, Copenhagen and London, many of which he accepted.