Musically, Tchaikovsky was a late developer, having first trained as a lawyer. By 1874, at the age of 34, his main compositions of any consequence were two symphonies and the fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet. It is not clear what spurred him to write his first piano concerto, but he wrote it quickly in the autumn of 1874. As this was his first attempt at a concerto, he sought the advice of his friend Nikolai Rubinstein concerning the piano writing. He got more than he had bargained for! After hearing Tchaikovsky play the work through, Rubinstein let rip: the concerto was "worthless, unplayable … passages were trite and awkward … as a composition it was bad and tawdry … only two or three pages could be retained, the rest would have to be completely revised". Tchaikovsky was speechless with fury (understandably enough) and refused to change a single note. But Rubinstein was also head of the Moscow Conservatoire, and this made it difficult for Tchaikovsky to get a performance of the new concerto in Moscow.

So Tchaikovsky dedicated the piece to the young pianist Hans von Bulow, who was a great admirer of Tchaikovsky's music, and was about to embark on a concert tour of the USA. Thus Bulow took with him, on the steamer to New York, the new and unperformed concerto. Bulow's youthful energy and enthusiasm ensured several performances in America, the first being in Boston on 25th October 1875. This and all subsequent performances were a great success, and Tchaikovsky was delighted by the letters Bulow wrote to him describing the concerts. Rubinstein soon admitted he had made a dreadful error of judgement, and became a great advocate of the concerto. Despite his vitriolic outburst, their friendship was restored.

The concerto is interesting in its musical construction: the spectacular opening tune is just an introduction and is never heard again. The "proper" themes are the light tripping melody first heard on the solo piano and a legato tune introduced on the wind which carries a balancing phrase sung on muted violins. These form the basis for a long and subtle movement, which towards the end includes a fully written-out cadenza for the piano.

The slow movement is calm to begin with; the solo flute sings one of Tchaikovsky's most beguiling melodies. The central section is fast and delicate, and is based on a French folk song. A short cadenza leads to a reprise of the opening flute tune.

The finale is more straightforward, alternating two tunes. The second, lyrical tune is used as a massive and triumphal close to the concerto, where it forms a counterpart to the equally powerful tune which opened the first movement.