For 8pm concert tomorrow at Long Ridge Music Center, I will be playing the first movement of Grieg's vioin sonata in C minor. I had always wanted to play this piece and finally, I will get to play it with Jeb Dennis.
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) is most famous for "Peer Gynt Suites", notably "In the Hall of the Mountain King". He is a Norwegian musical hero; during his life time Norway was under Denish rule and then Sweden took over Denmark. People in Norway wanted to keep their identity. Grieg wrote many pieces inspired by Norwegian folk tunes. He also lived during the high point of Norwegian cultural scene. His contemporaries include Ibsen and Munch.
The violin sonata in C minor (no.3) is the most famous of three violin sonatas by Grieg. Unlike the first two, he spent months to complete it. It's carefully crafted -- you can tell by its perfectness. It is no surprise that this sonata was his personal favorite and he liked to perform it on piano.
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) is most famous for "Peer Gynt Suites", notably "In the Hall of the Mountain King". He is a Norwegian musical hero; during his life time Norway was under Denish rule and then Sweden took over Denmark. People in Norway wanted to keep their identity. Grieg wrote many pieces inspired by Norwegian folk tunes. He also lived during the high point of Norwegian cultural scene. His contemporaries include Ibsen and Munch.
The violin sonata in C minor (no.3) is the most famous of three violin sonatas by Grieg. Unlike the first two, he spent months to complete it. It's carefully crafted -- you can tell by its perfectness. It is no surprise that this sonata was his personal favorite and he liked to perform it on piano.
As I did some research on Edvard Grieg I found two fun facts. Number one: he had a collection of small dolls and one of them, a "lucky frog" was his concert companion. Before stepping onto stage as a pianist or a conductor, he would rub his lucky frog in his pocket for good luck. The frog is exhibited at Troldhaugen (Grieg's house/museum) in Bergen, Norway.
Number two: Grieg hated school because he felt his teachers were too strict. In order to skip some classes, he wouldn't bring his umbrella to school on rainy days (Bergen has lots of rain) and get soaking wet. His school teacher would send him home to change... how smart...
We had so much fun working on this sonata. As I said, because of the perfect craft, many of his intentions are very clear but there are some things that are tossed up in the air. It's very romantic (which is a challenge for me), energetic and passionate. Here is a great recording of Fritz Kreisler and Sergei Rachmaninoff playing it:
Number two: Grieg hated school because he felt his teachers were too strict. In order to skip some classes, he wouldn't bring his umbrella to school on rainy days (Bergen has lots of rain) and get soaking wet. His school teacher would send him home to change... how smart...
We had so much fun working on this sonata. As I said, because of the perfect craft, many of his intentions are very clear but there are some things that are tossed up in the air. It's very romantic (which is a challenge for me), energetic and passionate. Here is a great recording of Fritz Kreisler and Sergei Rachmaninoff playing it:
