Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Symphony in C Minor by Edvard Grieg


http://youtu.be/JFJV4Wrva8I Grieg himself did not promote this lovely symphony during his lifetime. The world renowned conductors also did not bother much about it. But any steadfast music proponent would at least give it a thought and include it in the regular repertoire. I consider it a decent symphony. It should be considered a great find. It has all the freshness as you can expect of a Norwegian fjord. Grieg wrote this symphony when he was twenty one. He had written later to his friends that they should not bother about this symphony and that it should never be performed. The symphony had a good sleep for one hundred and twenty years. Contrary to Grieg's beliefs, the symphony is not barely out of school or clumsy and not Norwegian enough. There is an influence of Beethoven in the style along with that of the musical styles of Mendelssohn and Schumann. It also has phases of the style of Niels Gade. There is youthful ebullience in it. Bjarte Engeset and Malmo Orchestra brought this symphony out of its slumber in 1984. The symphony opens with some charming melodies and few heroic marches. There are romantic themes in the Adagio with its tenderness followed by an intermezzo which is rustic sounding and the finale is joyful. Throughout the symphony, there are some harmonic shifts that are subtle with various colour nuances. It can safely be added to all the great symphonies in the archive.

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