The Nordic countries in Europe normally stands out from people in continental Europe just by being themselves perhaps due to the relatively harsher weather they are subjected to as well as the intimacy they have with nature. Edvard Grieg, a Norwegian composer is noted for two things in my view. Firstly, a large portion of his compositions are either for Piano or based on the Piano that some scholars nick named him the 'Chopin of the North' perhaps like Chopin, he is also a pianist that writes lots of piano based music. Secondly, his unique harmonic skills in infusing Nordic Folk songs into his compisitions in an elegant manner to qualify as main stream classical music. Classical music is used loosely here to refer to music that pass or surpass the theoretical sandbox of musical laws rather than the classical era that pre-dates the romantic era.
My reason for choosing to write on this piece is in line with my aim of creating or keeping interest in classical music alive in Singapore. It saddens me to see shops reducing their classical music sections or doing away with it altogether. Some of you might think it is strange as Grieg is not a household name along the lines of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms or the triple Bs. However, many of us would have heard excerpts of this piece as it is widely used as background music in numerous shows with acknowledgements of it so miniscule that we will surely miss it one way or another. Most do not even bother as copyrights to this piece has expired as Grieg has died for more than 70 years now. Arvid Vollsnes is of the opinion that there are more recordings of this piano concerto than any piano concertos written during the Romantic era. I beg to differ as Google it and you will find that it is most probably either Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov Piano Concertos that occupies this spot and definitely not Grieg. Perhaps it is true in the Nordic part of the world.
Like Beethoven fifth symphony, Grieg Piano Concerto have a very distinct introduction. In the case of Beethoven, some scholars termed it as death knocking on the door. We cannot be totally sure about this as Beethoven himself did not explain the passage. For Grieg, the introduction is what I would term as surprising reality staring at your face. I got this notion from noticing film directors penchant for using this introduction to inject an element of surprise, fear, reality and almost exclusively in a negative sense. Like most minor keyed pieces, it is like starting a painting on a dark canvas metaphorically speaking. The examples are far too many to quote and do keep a look out for it.
In addition to the signature introduction, the first movement also have a too definite ending. It is not uncommon for hear a premature applause or two from the audience at this juncture mistaking it for an end to the paino concerto as the first movement is over 10 minutes. I would like to think that it is mostly a positive premature applause as opposed to a sarcastic applause that they have heard enough rubbish from the performers.
The second movement has a quieter entrance compared to the first movement and also a daring departure from the minor key to a contrasting major key. Most of the opinion that the second movement is thematically an island by itself but try putting on your thematic development facility and stretched your imagination a little further and you can most probably hear the thematic linkages between the 2 movements. This is a very unconventional posture and I am ready for volleys of canon from main stream opinion leaders.
The third and final movement takes a surprising detour to a Rondo like form away from the ABA form in the first two movements but it is done very cleverly by the composer to back link it to the theme of the first movement and leading it to a well resolved finale.
I though that there were only two versions of the Piano Concerto; the original (1868) and the final (1907). To my surprise, there are a total of seven principal versions. Most modern rendition is based on the Final (1907) version. You can still find recordings of the original (1868) version. For the other five versions sandwiched in between, I have not been able to lay my finger on them. Perhaps it is out there somewhere.
With an Opus number of 6, I would think that this Piano Concerto must have been done earlier in Grieg composing career but Opus 6 was assigned to the original version when Grieg was in his twenties with a wife and an infant in tow. The final version was autographed six weeks before Grieg death. This piece of music must have occupied a special sentimentality for Grieg to make life long revisions perhaps as a quest for musical nirvana or it is his favorite composition.
After rummaging through my collection and borrowed or stole some from my friends, I finally assembled the following recordings of this Piano Concerto.
Original Version (1868)
1. Derwinder/Hirokami/Norrkopping Symphony Orchestra
Final Version (1907)
1.Knardahl/Ingebretsen/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
2.Richter/Matacic/Monte Carlo National Opera Orchestra
3.O'hara/Judd/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
4.Ogawa/Rudd/Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Bergen premiered this piece)
5.Perahia/Davis/Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
The differential between the Original and Final version lies mainly in the orchestration and only small changes were made in the solo piano part. I could not lay my hands on any of the sandwiched versions to make a comparison.
Of the six renditions listed above, it is not surprising that the one by Richter stands out from the rest. Not only is the dynamic range between
ppp and
fff being more pronounced, the emotive force is also the strongest without compromising too much on technical correctness. This should not be surprising as Richter has publicly aired his view that he plays what he likes and does not care about the audience. I take it not as a prima donna with a bad attitude but perhaps Richter has discovered that by playing for himself, it will enable him to deliver the best music to his audience. Not many might agree as Richter has quite a character like last minute no show even on very special performances for the diplomatic corp.
Other giants in the list are Perahia who made his name in his Mozart and Beethoven interpretations and Knardahl who is noted for her interpretation of Nordic works. From my listening sessions, the renditions of these two giants sounded a bit main stream with little differential. Perhaps for more popular pieces like this Grieg Piano Concerto, the differential between the great and the greatest is so small that differentiating them calls for skills beyond my reach.
Happy listening.
Cheers,,,, Pete aka lkypeter
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