Northern Lights and Notes on Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor
The Best Moments
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
Hello, I am Grieg, and here I have gathered the best moments from my Piano Concerto in A Minor. You will hear how I packed the fresh spirit of a twenty-five-year-old composer into everything from dramatic solo piano flourishes to energetic Norwegian folk rhythms. On this site, I also join the other composers to help you recognize our music whenever it plays, so feel free to give our musical trainer a go .
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No polite knocking
I start I. Allegro molto moderato with a quiet drum roll on the timpani that swells into a sharp orchestral hit, just to make sure nobody in the back row is still unwrapping a cough drop. Right after that, the solo piano tumbles down the keyboard in a heavy cascade of chords, before the woodwinds step in to play the actual tune properly.
The pianist gets a breather
After all that noise, I open II. Adagio by putting mutes on the strings so they can play a quiet, thoughtful melody that lets everyone's pulse return to normal. I keep the pianist sitting with his hands in his lap for the whole opening, until the piano finally sweeps in for the middle section as if waking up from a very pleasant daydream.
Watch your head on the rafters
I don't even leave a pause before launching straight into III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato, which opens with an energetic rhythm based on the halling, an athletic Norwegian folk dance. With the music imitating the scratchy ring of a traditional Hardanger fiddle, it sounds less like a polite concert hall piece and more like someone trying to kick a hat off a high beam.
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Did you enjoy walking through the best moments of my Piano Concerto in A Minor with me? Even after picking out these highlights, there is still plenty more to discover in the Piano Concerto in A Minor, a score I kept returning to and tinkering with for the rest of my life. If you would like to hear the rest of the story behind the Piano Concerto in A Minor, simply click on the links on this page to keep exploring.
Recording: Edvard Grieg, Public domain