Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907)

Grieg was the first international Scandanavian composer of genius, whose influence, although considerable, is but little appreciated today. Too often, Grieg is regarded as merely a miniaturist, as if that by itself were a term of reproach: if he were so, then such a comment could apply equally to Chopin or Domenico Scarlatti, but Grieg was a master of both the larger and the smaller forms, even if, as time went by, he concentrated on the smaller, without wholly excluding the larger. His chamber music includes a relatively substantial output of large-scale works two string quartets, three violin sonatas and a piano trio, as well as one of his largest works, the Cello Sonata in A minor opus 36, which was written in 1883.

The completion of this sonata marked, for Grieg, a return to composition following a period during which the composer had been much pre-occupied both with his conducting duties at the Bergen Symphony Orchestra and with recurrent bouts of ill-health.

The dedication to his brother, John Grieg, who was himself a keen amateur cellist, was doubtless intended as a reconciliation, for the two had not been on good terms for some time. However, it was not John but Ludwig Griitzmacher who gave the first performance of the work with Grieg at the piano in Dresden on October 22nd 1883.

The structure of the Sonata shows considerable ingenuity, and - as with, for example, the Piano Concerto - once more, Grieg's deeply original approach to structure is apparent, with the emphasis now falling decisively on the finale despite the lightness of that movement's material, as it concludes with a lively Norwegian dance. The coda of the first movement quotes from the Concerto, and the basis of the second movement is the main theme from Grieg's 'Sigurd Jorsalfar' music of 1872; the nature of the finale is also presaged in the G minor String Quartet. However, overall the impression remains of a cogent and distinctive work of art.

Edvard Grieg on Guild Music

• GMCD 7310 Martin Werner plays Schubert, Schumann, Grieg, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Felder

• GMCD 7291 Ave Maris Stella - Hail Mary
• GMCD 7127 Grieg and Rachmaninov for Cello and Piano

Page revised Friday November 17 2006