Example 5b. Unusual features of Tchaikovsky’s B♭ minor Piano Concerto (1874), which may have provided the bases for Nikolai Rubinstein’s negative criticisms, followed by possible “programmatic” explanations relating to his romantic relationship with Artôt.

I. First movement: 5a | 5b | 5c | 5d | 5e | 5f   II. Second movement: 5g | 5h | 5i | 5j   III. Third movement: 5k | 5l

b.	Unusual use (for Tchaikovsky) of a Russian folk song (“Oy, Kryatsche, Kryatsche”) as the principal theme. — His rationale for choosing this melody may be its disguised references to both his and Artôt’s acronyms: