Edvard Grieg: Piano concerto in A minor

Since the end of the 14th century, the city of Bergen, in Norway, had been part of the Hanseatic League, a mercantile and political group of cities and associations aimed at preserving the commercial hegemony of northern Europe. Despite leaving the association in 1763, by the mid-nineteenth century Bergen was still a prosperous city and equally privileged for its inspiring beauty.

In this stimulating city, the great Norwegian nationalist musician and author of Peer Gynt suites, the composer and pianist Edvard Grieg, was born. Better still, he was the fourth offspring of a family that enjoyed a solid prestige in the city —the father, as a successful entrepreneur and an English consul as well, and the mother as a talented pianist besides being a writer.

Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907)

After receiving the first piano lessons from his mother, Edvard entered the Leipzig Conservatory at age 15 and at 20 he graduated as a concert pianist. He returned to Scandinavia full of illusions, with a bunch of pieces for piano and a songs book. But the cultural life of Norway was not that of central Europe. So, he realized that the possibilities of pursuing a professional career as a musician were scarce.

As expected, he tried to make a living as a private teacher. He moved to Cristianía (now Oslo), adding to his activities the management of a choral society, which allowed him to better cope the marriage with his cousin Nina, also from Bergen, in 1867. His new obligations did not prevent him from continuing to work on composition, and as early as the year following his marriage, in 1868, the first of his ten books of Lyrical Pieces for piano and the brand-new Concerto for piano in A minor were published.

Piano Concerto in A minor, opus 16
Two years later, in 1870, Edvard received an invitation from Franz Liszt to visit him in Rome. Edvard took the piano concerto with him. Reading the score a prima vista Liszt played the part of the piano and then the orchestral part. Moved by his beauty, the Hungarian maestro offered Grieg his warmest congratulations. According to an eyewitness, Edvard, facing such praise, behaved quite well and only noted that the maestro had played it a little bit quicker.

Composed at the age of 25, the concerto shows some influence from previous authors such as Schumann or Mendelssohn, or even Liszt, if we pay attention to the virtuous passages. According to the scholars, despite the fact that a specific quote to one or another folk theme is not present in the work, Grieg did succeed in instilling in the work a romantic breath clearly inspired by Scandinavian popular culture.

Movements
00:00  Allegro molto moderato - Containing the theme that has made the work popular.
14:27  Adagio - An intimate movement.
21:33  Allegro moderato molto e marcato - A majestic and brilliant ending. In my modest opinion, Grieg announces here a modern composer, who just will come into the world thirty years later: George Gershwin.

The rendition is by the master Arthur Rubinstein, accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Previn.

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