The Piano Concerto in A minor by Edvard Grieg was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and among the most popular of all piano concertos. Edvard Hagerup Grieg (June 15, 1843–September 4, 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. ... In classical music, the word concerto (pl. ... A piano concerto is a concerto for solo piano and orchestra. ...

History and influences

The work is among Grieg's earliest important works, being written in 1868 in Sollerod in Denmark, during one of Grieg's visits there to benefit from the warmer climate than that of his native Norway. It is written for solo piano, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, violins, violas, cellos and double basses. It is in three movements: Søllerød is a municipality in eastern Denmark, in the county of Copenhagen on the island of Zealand. ... This article pertains to the musical instrument. ... Modern Oboe The Oboe is a musical instrument of the woodwind double reed family. ... A bass clarinet, which sounds an octave lower than the more common Bâ™­ soprano clarinet. ... A Fox Instruments bassoon; view detail. ... Horn may refer to: horn (anatomy), a hollow, pointed projection of the skin of various animals Horn, Austria horn (diacritic), a diacritic mark used to indicate that a normally rounded vowel such as o or u is to be pronounced unrounded horn (instrument) horn, a slang term for any wind... Trumpeter performing with the United States Air Forces in Europe Band The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the tuba, euphonium, trombone, sousaphone, and french horn. ... Bâ™­/F tenor trombone A lip-reed aerophone with a predominantly cylindrical bore, the trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. ... The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart. ... The viola is a stringed musical instrument which serves as the middle voice of the violin family, between the upper lines played by the violin and the lower lines played by the cello and double bass. ... A cropped image to show the relative size of a cello to a human (Uncropped Version) The violoncello, or as it is more commonly to refered to as the cello or cello (pronounced Cheh-loh), is a stringed instrument and a member of the violin family. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ...

1. Allegro molto moderato
2. Adagio
3. Allegro moderato molto e marcato

Grieg's concerto is often compared to the Piano Concerto of Robert Schumann — it is in the same key, the opening descending flourish on the piano is similar, and the overall style is considered to be closer to Schumann than any other single composer. Grieg had heard Schumann's concerto played by Clara Schumann in Leipzig in 1858, and was greatly influenced by Schumann's style generally, having been taught the piano by Schumann's friend, Ernst Ferdinand Wenzel. The Piano Concerto in A minor by Robert Schumann was completed in 1845. ... Robert Schumann (June 8, 1810 – July 29, 1856) was a German composer and pianist. ... In music theory, the key identifies the tonic triad, the chord, major or minor, which represents the final point of rest for a piece, or the focal point of a section. ... Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Wieck Schumann (September 13, 1819 – May 20, 1896), wife of composer Robert Schumann, was one of the leading pianists of the Romantic era as well as a composer. ... Map of Germany showing Leipzig   Leipzig? [ˈlaiptsɪç] (Polish; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk) is the largest city in the federal state (Bundesland) of Saxony in Germany. ...

Additionally, Grieg's work provides evidence of his interest in Norwegian folk music — the opening flourish is based around the motif of a falling second (see interval) followed by a falling third, which is typical of the folk music of Grieg's native country. This specific motif occurs in other works by Grieg, including the String Quartet. In the last movement of the concerto, similarities to the springar (a Norwegian folk dance) and imitations of the Hardanger fiddle (the Norwegian folk fiddle) have been detected. Folk music from Norway is usually in minor or modal, making a sober and haunting sound, though major key dance music forms also exist. ... In music theory, an interval is the distance in pitch between two notes, the lower and higher members of the interval. ... A Hardanger fiddle or hardingfele (Norwegian) is a stringed instrument very similar to a violin, but different enough that a luthier accustomed to repairing violins who works on a hardangerfele is likely to ruin it. ...

Grieg himself was a good pianist but the work was premiered by Edmund Neupert on April 3, 1869 in Copenhagen. Grieg was unable to attend the premiere owing to commitments with an orchestra in Christiania (now Oslo). Among those who did attend the premiere were the Danish composer Niels Gade and the Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein. The Norwegian premiere in Kristiania followed on August 7, 1869, and the piece was later heard in Germany in 1872 and England in 1874. City nickname: none Location in Denmark Area  - Total  - Water 526 km² xxx km² xx% Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density 502,204 1,116,979 954/km2 [including water] xxx/km2 [land only] Time zone Eastern: UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 55°43 N 12°34 E Copenhagen (Danish: København) is... County Oslo NO-03 Landscape Viken Municipality NO-0301 Administrative centre Oslo Mayor (2004) Per Ditlev-Simonsen (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 224 454 km² 426 km² 0. ... Niels Wilhelm Gade (February 22, 1817 - December 21, 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. ... Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein (Анто́н Григо́рьевич Рубинште́йн) (November 28, 1829 – November 20, 1894) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity...

The work was first published in Leipzig in 1872. Shortly before his death, Grieg revised the work, undoing Franz Liszt's suggestion to give the second subject of the first movement to the trumpet rather than the cellos among other changes. Map of Germany showing Leipzig   Leipzig? [ˈlaiptsɪç] (Polish; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk) is the largest city in the federal state (Bundesland) of Saxony in Germany. ... Franz Liszt (Hungarian; Liszt Ferenc) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer. ... Trumpeter performing with the United States Air Forces in Europe Band The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the tuba, euphonium, trombone, sousaphone, and french horn. ... A cropped image to show the relative size of a cello to a human (Uncropped Version) The violoncello, or as it is more commonly to refered to as the cello or cello (pronounced Cheh-loh), is a stringed instrument and a member of the violin family. ...

In 1882–83 Grieg worked on a second piano concerto in B minor, but it was never completed.

The concerto in popular culture

The first movement of Grieg's piano concerto is used in Adrian Lyne's 1997 film Lolita. In 2004, it was featured in a Nike commercial. Adrian Lyne (Born: March 4, 1941 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England) is an English filmmaker and producer. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first published in 1955. ...

External links

• An essay on the concerto by Monica Jangaard at the Grieg Museum website