Edvard Grieg

Born: June 15, 1843, in Bergen, Norway
Died: September 4, 1907, in Bergen, Norway

Concerto in A Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 16

• Composed: 1868
• Premiere: April 3, 1869, Copenhagen, Holger Simon Paulii conducting, Edmund Neupert, piano
• CSO Notable Performances:
  • First: March 1896, Frank Van der Stucken conducting; Minna Wetzler, piano
  • Most Recent: November 2017, Paavo Järvi conducting; Alice Sara Ott, piano
  • Notable: January 2005 at Carnegie Hall, Paavo Järvi conducting; Lars Vogt, piano
  • Recording: From the Top at the Pops released in 2009, Erich Kunzel conducting; Ji-Yong, piano
• Instrumentation: solo piano, 2 flutes (incl. piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings
• Duration: approx. 30 minutes

Edvard Grieg’s great-grandfather left Scotland in the mid-18th century and settled in the coastal city of Bergen, Norway, where the young Edvard grew up within a musical family, surrounded by mountains and sea. He learned piano from his mother and first tried composing in his teens. At the age of 15, Grieg had the privilege of meeting the famous Norwegian violin virtuoso Ole Bull. Bull was seen as a hero in Norway for his nationalism. Norway had been ruled by Denmark and then Sweden for hundreds of years and was growing increasingly independent—the country gained full independence in 1905—and interest in the native culture was gaining momentum. Bull helped to establish the Norwegian Theater in Bergen and supported Henrik Ibsen when he was an obscure young playwright.  

When Bull heard some early compositions by Grieg and recommended that he travel to Leipzig to study music, Grieg heeded the advice. The two remained in contact and Bull was influential in opening Grieg’s eyes to the value of Norwegian folk music; the young composer grew determined to forge a career that would contribute to an emerging national style of classical music. He more than succeeded in this endeavor, becoming known during his lifetime as Norway’s greatest composer and writing music that bore a national identity and embraced the vibrant folk traditions of his country.  

Most of Grieg’s works are miniature in scope: his short Lyric Pieces for solo piano and the incidental music from Peer Gynt are charming character studies that draw from Norway’s folksongs and scenic landscapes for inspiration. The Piano Concerto is Grieg’s only foray into orchestral writing on a grand scale and was an instant hit at its premiere in 1869, when Grieg was just 24 years old.  

After completing his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory in Germany, Grieg lived in Copenhagen for three years, where he enjoyed the vibrant culture and met a singer, Nina Hagerup, who became his wife four years later. After moving back to Norway, the couple enjoyed extended holidays in Denmark, and it was during one such trip that Grieg composed his Piano Concerto. The work was first performed in Denmark in 1869 with the young Norwegian virtuoso Edmund Neupert at the piano. Grieg was an accomplished pianist himself but only played the solo part a few times, preferring others to take the spotlight. He returned to the concerto throughout his life, revising it four separate times. His final revision, which included adding the third and fourth horns, was sent to his publisher just six weeks before his death in 1907.  

A highlight of Grieg’s time as a student in Leipzig was the opportunity to hear Clara Schumann perform her late husband Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor. The concert affected him deeply, and the fact that Grieg modeled his concerto on Schumann’s is undeniable. He chose the same key of A minor and included an opening gesture that mirrors Schumann: a dramatic flourish from the piano followed by a hushed theme in the woodwinds. The second theme is introduced by the lyrical and dark cellos before the piano takes it up. (The first of Grieg’s revisions in 1872, which mostly involved tweaks to the orchestration, had this melody in the trumpets.) Toward the end of the movement, the soloist plays a cadenza that begins quietly and builds to a dramatic climax of arpeggios and rich chords. During the premiere performance, the audience was so excited by Neupert’s virtuosic display that they burst into applause in the middle of the movement.  

The long orchestral opening of the slow movement casts a serene spell with intimate writing that recalls Greig’s smaller-scale pieces. The strings play a folk-like melody and the French horn answers with a pastoral calmness. When the piano finally enters, it is with a gently cascading figure reminiscent of its fiery entrance from the first movement, but now entirely peaceful. There is a beautiful swelling of energy and emotion, but the atmosphere remains nostalgic throughout and ends quietly with an intoning horn and gentle, uplifting piano notes.  

The finale is resplendent with colorful Norwegian folk themes. Echoes of the halling, an energetic and athletic folk dance, appear in the exuberant opening theme, complete with the jarring accents that are characteristic of the dance’s kicking movements. A tender moment comes with the flute playing a different folk-like melody that the piano extends with improvisatory freedom. The dance returns with an uncontainable vitality that leads to a thrilling conclusion worthy of one of the most popular concertos of the Romantic era.  

Tchaikovsky, whose own later piano concertos are giants of the repertoire, was influenced by Grieg and praised the composer profusely: “What charm, what inimitable and rich musical imagery! What warmth and passion in his melodic phrases, what teeming vitality in his harmony, what originality and beauty in the turn of his piquant and ingenious modulations and rhythms, and in all the rest what interest, novelty, and independence.” 

—Catherine Case