More from Grieg’s diary entry the day he premiered this music in public: “What hurt me was that the Norwegian Peasant Dances did not strike home as they should have. I played them with all the affection and magic I could muster. But - where my development as a composer has now led me, I dont have my own people [Norwegians] with me, and that is hard to bear. Here they always draw heavily on works from my youth, which on suitable occasions are praised at the expense of my recent ones. But - I must not let that hinder me. I hope I can continue to develop as long as I live. That is my fondest wish. The understanding of the general public will come in due course.”
@ he was referring to the fact that his Oslo audience (“my own people”) did not applaud him warmly after the first performance he gave of the Slåtter. The next week the audience gave a much better response, so he was relieved by that.
Finally someone who understands what Grieg was trying to achieve. The Slatter, the g minor ballad and the first string quartet are masterpieces. Had Grieg written only those, he would be seen as the great composer he actually was. Many look down on him bc of his more popular works. That’s very saddening.
Based on his diary entry after performing these in 1906 (pinned in the comments), he had already realized that his popular reputation would rest on his earlier works, and that weighed heavily on him. And it’s still true today: Peer Gynt, the piano concerto, early lyric pieces etc. are mostly what people hear
Myopic and close minded, dragged from their respective comfort zones, they adopt a position of superiority! I suggest it was ever thus! Shame! These are rare delights!
amazing video, great timing as well as I am recently studying/playing all the lyric pieces. I was very fascinated by how modern some of them sound, this video was great input.
Thanks for posting these excerpts of my favorite Grieg compositions. I became acquainted with them via the wonderful recording of the entire set by the Hungarian pianist Andor Foldes.
I'm glad you enjoyed the selection, I've been wanting to make a video like this for a while. I love Grieg’s more famous stuff, but there is something so original about this music that puts it in a different category.
There is also the interesting and quite embarassing episode between Grieg and the Young Ravel that decided to play in front of the Norvegian Master one of His Dances, in a parisian Salon, i suppose...and then the Old Grieg sat up from his chair, beating the rhythm of his piece on the floor with his Stick... And saying, quite raging, at Ravel " No no...no, young Sir, not at all in this manner! More rhythm! You have not seen the men of my country dancing at this type of Music..."
Yikes! I didn’t know that one. I bet he never forgot that unplanned lesson. Grieg also once wrote how shocked he was that the young Percy Grainger could play these dances so intuitively and yet a young Norwegian pianist somehow got interpretation all wrong.
I use a Yamaha N1X hybrid piano. Quite expensive when I got it a few years ago, but I needed a real action without the footprint of a grand. Kawai also makes a hybrid that I’ve heard others like, but I haven’t played one.
Nice cute pieces. Mostly insignificant though. Perhaps significantly nostalgic for an aging admirer of Grieg, for playing for oneself or a small like minded audience
I think you could build an interesting recital with these pieces being like a step towards Bartók, and maybe also include one of the Spanish Modernists as another perspective on 20th century adaptations of national folk materials, etc.
More from Grieg’s diary entry the day he premiered this music in public: “What hurt me was that the Norwegian Peasant Dances did not strike home as they should have. I played them with all the affection and magic I could muster. But - where my development as a composer has now led me, I dont have my own people [Norwegians] with me, and that is hard to bear. Here they always draw heavily on works from my youth, which on suitable occasions are praised at the expense of my recent ones. But - I must not let that hinder me. I hope I can continue to develop as long as I live. That is my fondest wish. The understanding of the general public will come in due course.”
"Away from Norwegians".....Was that while Grieg resided in Liechtenstein? BRAVO from Acapulco!
@ he was referring to the fact that his Oslo audience (“my own people”) did not applaud him warmly after the first performance he gave of the Slåtter. The next week the audience gave a much better response, so he was relieved by that.
@@PianoCurio -- I see now....Gracias por su aclaración magistral! Are you still enjoying living in Europe?
Finally someone who understands what Grieg was trying to achieve. The Slatter, the g minor ballad and the first string quartet are masterpieces. Had Grieg written only those, he would be seen as the great composer he actually was. Many look down on him bc of his more popular works. That’s very saddening.
Based on his diary entry after performing these in 1906 (pinned in the comments), he had already realized that his popular reputation would rest on his earlier works, and that weighed heavily on him. And it’s still true today: Peer Gynt, the piano concerto, early lyric pieces etc. are mostly what people hear
Myopic and close minded, dragged from their respective comfort zones, they adopt a position of superiority! I suggest it was ever thus! Shame! These are rare delights!
amazing video, great timing as well as I am recently studying/playing all the lyric pieces. I was very fascinated by how modern some of them sound, this video was great input.
I’m deeply indebted to you for turning me on to these pieces. I thought I knew all the piano music of Grieg but I missed this set. Wonderful.
Wow, I’m so glad to hear that! They were revelatory for me as well when I first heard them a few years ago.
It’s like Grieg as Bartók the musicologist-composer.
Your performance and historical notes are wonderful! Thank You! I'm going to pair these pieces with Romero's Mompuo set!
Thanks for posting these excerpts of my favorite Grieg compositions. I became acquainted with them via the wonderful recording of the entire set by the Hungarian pianist Andor Foldes.
I'm glad you enjoyed the selection, I've been wanting to make a video like this for a while. I love Grieg’s more famous stuff, but there is something so original about this music that puts it in a different category.
My composition teacher made me study these. I'm always delighted he did, they're phenomenal.
this channel is so epic
I personally really love his op 71 no 2- Sommeraften
You are playing?! This is wonderful to get for free. You must be a certified proffesional!
There is also the interesting and quite embarassing episode between Grieg and the Young Ravel that decided to play in front of the Norvegian Master one of His Dances, in a parisian Salon, i suppose...and then the Old Grieg sat up from his chair, beating the rhythm of his piece on the floor with his Stick... And saying, quite raging, at Ravel " No no...no, young Sir, not at all in this manner! More rhythm! You have not seen the men of my country dancing at this type of Music..."
Yikes! I didn’t know that one. I bet he never forgot that unplanned lesson. Grieg also once wrote how shocked he was that the young Percy Grainger could play these dances so intuitively and yet a young Norwegian pianist somehow got interpretation all wrong.
If this is true, Ravel must have really played it like water. To the Romantic Grieg, it all seemed like an unclear oil painting! But who knows?
Until I came across Halvorsen, Norwegian music was all Grieg to me.
A note on the spelling: The Scandinavian letter "å" is often written "aa" and is pronounced approximately like English "aw".
They sound almost like Bartók - Impressive.
Definitely a link in the chain towards Bartók
I was just going tío type this
Thanks for the wonderful recordings of some lesser known works. I'm shopping for a digital piano and I'm curious what kind you're using.
I use a Yamaha N1X hybrid piano. Quite expensive when I got it a few years ago, but I needed a real action without the footprint of a grand. Kawai also makes a hybrid that I’ve heard others like, but I haven’t played one.
@@PianoCurio Thanks!
0:52 *toeing
Oeps
Nice cute pieces. Mostly insignificant though. Perhaps significantly nostalgic for an aging admirer of Grieg, for playing for oneself or a small like minded audience
I think you could build an interesting recital with these pieces being like a step towards Bartók, and maybe also include one of the Spanish Modernists as another perspective on 20th century adaptations of national folk materials, etc.
@@PianoCurio yes! Granados,Mompou,Blancafort, Toldrà,Albéniz ,Turina....
The first sounds like a piece by Bartok. Which one?
Totally agree, that one is #6 of the set.