Herbert Schuch, the pianist on this recording, won three major piano competitions within a single year: the Casagrande, London International, and International Beethoven Piano Competitions.
Composition History
Grieg composed his Piano Concerto in A minor during the summer of 1868 in Søllerød, a Danish seaside resort, while staying in a remote garden house.
Composition History
Grieg's Symphony in C minor was withdrawn by the composer after several partial performances, with his note 'må aldrig opføres' (may never be performed) preventing its release for generations.
Composer Biography
Edvard Grieg, a Norwegian composer with Scottish ancestors, came from a family where his father was a lobster and dried fish exporter and British vice consul, and his mother was a trained pianist.
Cultural Impact
The Symphony in C minor was only rehabilitated as a piece of national heritage in Norway after Russian conductor Vitali Katayev performed it in 1980, against an agreement with the Soviet Union.
Composition History
Grieg's only Symphony in C minor was written in Copenhagen after Niels Wilhelm Gade, a Danish symphonic composer, asked him to compose something 'truly valuable'.
Historical Context
Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor became a declaration of an independent Scandinavian musical tradition during a time of Norway's dependence on Sweden.
You might also enjoy...
Saint-Saens: Organ Symphony; Piano Concerto No.2
Franz Xaver Scharwenka: Piano Concerto No. 1 · Symphony C minor
