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Topic: What about Grieg?  (Read 11323 times)

Offline frigo

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What about Grieg?
on: November 12, 2007, 01:04:55 PM
Can you tell me some of the best Grieg compositions for piano solo?

If you please, describe some characteristics like: are they too small or too long? Are they very hard to play for a regular-non-professional piano player?
And everything else you want to coment about the musics you post...

Offline mcgillcomposer

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #1 on: November 12, 2007, 01:44:47 PM
Can you tell me some of the best Grieg compositions for piano solo?

If you please, describe some characteristics like: are they too small or too long? Are they very hard to play for a regular-non-professional piano player?
And everything else you want to coment about the musics you post...


The sonata in e minor is very diverse in character, is fairly short (for a Romantic period sonata), and is moderate in difficulty - perhaps advanced for the typical non-professional. It contains an alberti-like bass figure that spans a tenth which may cause difficulty for some.
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Offline richard black

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #2 on: November 12, 2007, 03:08:59 PM
Look at the Slatter, Op. 72 (I think) - they're almost never played but great fun. Pianistically challenging in places, too.
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Offline tengstrand

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #3 on: November 12, 2007, 08:43:45 PM
This is an easy one: The Ballad
Per

Offline ahinton

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #4 on: November 12, 2007, 11:03:56 PM
Look at the Slatter, Op. 72 (I think) - they're almost never played but great fun. Pianistically challenging in places, too.
Hear, hear!

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Offline mattgreenecomposer

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #5 on: November 13, 2007, 03:09:26 AM
All of his Lyric Pieces are little gems.  Most of them aren't too difficult if you are an advanced player.
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Offline pianochick93

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #6 on: November 13, 2007, 07:17:37 AM
Easy: Elfin Dance, and Waltz in A minor (I think) from the lyric pieces.
Harder: In The Hall of the Mountain King, Anitras Dance, Ases Tod, and a few others I can't remember the name of.

Elfin Dance is very fun. As is the Waltz. As is Anitra's Dance, as are all of them in general...
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Offline frigo

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #7 on: November 13, 2007, 02:00:58 PM
Thank you all. :)

Offline mikey6

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #8 on: November 13, 2007, 04:10:14 PM
Harder: In The Hall of the Mountain King, Anitras Dance, Ases Tod, and a few others I can't remember the name of.
The Peer Gynt Transcriptions really don't work that well on piano, perhaps besides morning.
The Ballade, the sonata and the lyric pieces are the most often played of his solo works.
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Offline slobone

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #9 on: November 14, 2007, 04:14:46 AM
Check out a piece called I think Peasant's March in the Lyric Pieces. It's the one that repeats the same pattern all the way down the keyboard. It's a lot of fun to play and not terribly difficult. Your audience will think it's much harder than it is!

Offline clhiospzitn

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #10 on: November 14, 2007, 05:19:51 AM
His Elegies (op. 34) are very beautiful pieces - the second one, called "Last Spring", is very famous and is usually played by an orchestra, but he did write a version of it just for the piano.  These pieces aren't very difficult, but there are numerous accidentals in them and it can be quite challenging to bring out the melodies at times.

Of course everyone's already mentioned the Lyric Pieces, but two of my favorites are no. 21 and the Butterfly.
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Offline alpacinator1

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #11 on: November 16, 2007, 08:19:40 PM
I like Wedding Day at the Trauldhagen
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Offline nanabush

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #12 on: November 16, 2007, 08:35:15 PM
His Sonata is Incredible... the 4th movement has some tear-out-your-hair moments, but it is an amazing piece.
Interested in discussing:

-Prokofiev Toccata
-Scriabin Sonata 2

Offline ahinton

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #13 on: November 16, 2007, 10:31:12 PM
Ases Tod
Now there's a good one! (said he, indulging in abit of shameless yet indirect self-publicity thereby)...

Best,

Alistair (another Scot, like the grandson of Alexander Greig)...
Alistair Hinton
Curator / Director
The Sorabji Archive

Offline rachfan

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #14 on: November 19, 2007, 12:41:17 AM
Hi frigo,

Here is a link to one of Grieg's Lyric Pieces, "At thy Feet" that I posted over in the Audition Room recently.  If you'd like to listen to it, you might like it and decide decide to play it.  It's very beautiful, probably one of his best pieces.  Enjoy!

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Offline pianovirus

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Re: What about Grieg?
Reply #15 on: November 19, 2007, 12:32:45 PM
The Peer Gynt Transcriptions really don't work that well on piano, perhaps besides morning.

I find the Holberg suite transcription (by Grieg himself, I think) works nicely. Especially the famous 1st mv. is a lot of fun on the piano.
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