Edvard Grieg & Antonín Dvořák: Piano Concertos

Featuring

Kirill Kondrashin
Sviatoslav Richter
Václav Smetáček
Moscow State Symphony Orchestra
Prague Symphony Orchestra
Edvard Grieg

Antonín Dvořák

Did you know?

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Composer Biography

Grieg's Piano Concerto, Op.16, was written when he was 25, recently married, and had just seen the birth of his first child.

Recording & Production

This album features live stereo recordings of Svjatoslav Richter, piano, with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra for the Grieg concerto and the Prague Symphony Orchestra for the Dvořák concerto.

Compositional Technique

Grieg gave his Piano Concerto a distinctively Norwegian character, incorporating rhythms reminiscent of a halling, a Norwegian folk dance.

Critical Reception

Dvořák's Piano Concerto, Op.33, was initially criticized for the piano part being without contrasts and often covered by the orchestra, leading to an 'enriched' edition by Professor Vílem Kurz in 1935.

Composition History

Grieg's Piano Concerto, Op.16, was inspired by Schumann's Piano Concerto, Op.54, which is in the same key of A minor.

Recording & Production

The recordings on this album were mastered using DSD technology from original broadcast stereo tapes.

Compositional Technique

The finale of Grieg's Piano Concerto imitates the sounds of the hardanger fiddle, a traditional Norwegian string instrument, with its appoggiaturas, open fifths, and high-pitched dissonances.