Grieg Piano Concerto

Grieg's Piano Concerto, in A minor, Opus 16, was composed in 1868, and is his only concerto. It is one of his most popular works and among the most popular of all piano concerti. Grieg's concerto is often compared to thePiano 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's style than that of any other composer.

Grieg's Piano Concerto has been used in movies, shows, etc. For example:

  • The first movement's coda is featured in the 1939 movie Intermezzo starring Leslie Howard and Ingrid Bergman.

  • The Concerto was featured in the 1945 movie The Seventh Veil.

  • The opening theme of the first movement was used in the song Asia Minor, a top-ten pop hit from 1961. The title of the song was also based on the key of the concerto, A minor.

  • Excerpts from the first movement are incorporated into the song Rosemary in the 1961 Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is renowned as a nationalist composer, drawing inspiration from Norwegian folk-music. He wrote, "I am sure my music has the taste of codfish in it". (Frommer's Norway: 3rd edition, ISBN 978-0-470-10057-8, page 274, 2007.) Grieg's compositions have been used extensively in media, music education, and popular music.

Among his best known works are the Piano Concerto in A Minor, the Peer Gynt Suites (which include Morning Mood and In the Hall of the Mountain King), and the Lyric Pieces. He originally wrote his popular Holberg Suite for the piano, and later arranged it for string orchestra. Grieg wrote many songs, in which he set lyrics by poets Heinrich Heine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Henrik Ibsen, Hans Christian Andersen, Rudyard Kipling, and others.