Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 - I. Allegro molto moderato

grieg was 24 years old when he wrote this in 1868 in denmark on holiday. it was premiered april the following year, and has gone on to be probably his most well-loved work, certainly of the "large-scale" ones (really, i can only name like... three other pieces by grieg...)

the following statement about grieg is really very true:
Grieg's national identity-his embodiment of the Norwegian spirit in music-is so much stressed in discussions of his work that his purely musical affinities tend to be overlooked.
the analysis goes on to argue that the dominant musical personality in grieg's life was schumann, and that this is especially evident in the first movements of their respective piano concertos (schumann's was completed in 1845). wiki cites as an example the "single powerful orchestral chord" preceding the piano entrance in both cases.
the concerto was grieg's first major success. its premiere was attended by gade and rubinstein, and later when grieg was invited to rome to visit liszt, the latter took it upon himself to sight read the piece right then and there. apparently liszt's enthusiasm was so much that at one point near the end of his reading he "rose from the piano and strode about the room with his arms raised, singing the theme at the top of his voice," and then sat back down at the piano and finished playing it, after which he gave his unequivocal praise and encouragement to the young grieg. damn.

ok, obviously tons of great recordings out there to be found of this concerto, which has proved one of the most enduring ever written (and with its romantic flair and moderate difficulty - several steps removed from tchaik and rach - a favorite among students just getting into the concerto form). here are just a couple.

a fairly old rubinstein takes this with stateliness and matter-of-factness, very different from standard playful and more indulgent interpretations.

this is a bit more sympathetic. lipatti plays with tons of fire, briskness, and intensity.
if you have time, also check out gieseking, and richter.
the opening motif of falling half step/falling major third is supposedly characteristic of his native norwegian folk music.
the drama in this first movement is immediately accessible. there is an inherent songfulness and singability about this entire concerto, which is evident from the very first melody (given by the winds after the dramatic a minor chords in the beginning measures). this dotted rhythm and melody comes back again and again, always leaving an open end for subsequent developments.
second theme begins at . one of liszt's suggestions to grieg regarding orchestration was to give this theme to the trumpets instead of the celli. grieg made almost 300 edits to this concerto between its original completion and his death in 1907. liszt's suggestion was at some point incorporated but didn't make the final cut, for which i am pretty glad.

one more interesting tidbit - this was the first piano concerto ever recorded (in significantly abridged form) - backhaus in 1909. check it out!

cool.