Details
- Composer
- Edvard Grieg
- Catalogue no.
- Op. 16
- Key
- A minor
- Scoring
- Piano and orchestra
- Length
- about 13 min
Recording
Morning music at 7
About this piece
A drumroll begins softly and grows, then the piano pours down from the top of the keyboard to the bottom in one rush. A young man of twenty-four wrote this dramatic opening.
At a glance
- What it isthe first movement of Grieg's only piano concerto, in A minor.
- Who, when, whyhe wrote it on a summer holiday in Denmark in 1868, and it premiered in Copenhagen the next year.
- What to listen forthe timpani and piano opening, the first theme introduced by the woodwinds, the cellos' second theme, and the piano's long cadenza.
Listen for
- The openingafter the timpani crescendo, the piano cascades from high to low in chords and octaves.
- The second themethe cellos sing a broad, warm melody, which the piano takes up dreamily.
- The cadenzawhile the orchestra rests, the piano alone swells the theme to a climax.
When it was written
In 1868 Grieg was twenty-four, newly married and a new father, a young musician searching for an independent Norwegian voice. He filled this concerto with the rhythms and colors of Norwegian folk music.
In 1870 Grieg met Liszt in Rome. According to Grieg's letter, Liszt sight-read the concerto at the piano on first seeing the score and praised it warmly. Grieg revised the work many times throughout his life.
A question to think about
Liszt's praise gave the young Grieg great strength: someone noticed and encouraged an unknown young man's work. Today many young creators still sink from view without a chance.
What responsibilities and methods are needed for those already recognized to open doors for those just starting out?
The composer
Edvard Grieg1843–1907 · born in Bergen, NorwayMore on Grieg →For moods like
Anxious · Restless
fast · minor key · energy 5
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