Grieg & Enescu: The Piano Concertos & Solo Works (Live)
5/6/2022, 26 Tracks, 2:08:21
Featuring
Nicolae Moldoveanu
Luiza Borac
Romanian Radio National Orchestra
Edvard Grieg
George Enescu
Did you know?
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Performer Biography
Luiza Borac, the German-Romanian pianist on this album, has won over 30 prizes and accolades, including the BBC Music Award for her recording of George Enescu's piano works.
Composer Biography
Despite their different origins and lifespans, Edvard Grieg (Norwegian) and George Enescu (Romanian) shared a common bond: their connection to the music of their homelands.
Composition History
Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, his only concerto, was dedicated to the Norwegian pianist Edmund Neupert, who premiered it successfully in 1869.
Compositional Technique
Enescu's (unfinished) Piano Concerto in D minor, an early work from 1897, is written in a late Romantic style reminiscent of Brahms or Rachmaninov, incorporating Romanian folklore and gypsy music.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Grieg's 66 'Lyric Pieces' for solo piano, published in 10 volumes between 1867 and 1901, were largely inspired by Norwegian folk music and often depict Norwegian myths, fairy tales, and nature.
Critical Reception
Grieg's Piano Concerto was initially criticized at its first German performance in Leipzig in 1872, but seven years later, Grieg himself performed it to great acclaim.
Composition History
The autograph scores of Enescu's 'Pièces impromptues pour Piano' op. 18, written between 1913 and 1916, were lost during World War I and only rediscovered in 1957.
