Edvard Grieg (1843 -1907) Lyric Pieces (selections) Among Grieg's works, the Lyric Pieces seem to have a special place with a special significance in...
Edvard Grieg
(1843 -1907)
Lyric Pieces (selections)
Among Grieg's works, the
Lyric Pieces seem to have a special
place with a special significance in their order. That he apparently viewed
them in the same way is clear from the fact that his last lyrical piece, 'Remembrances',
Op. 71, No. 7, in 1901, quotes his first piece, 'Arietta', Op. 12, No. 1, of 1867. Thus the circle
is completed, marking the end of the period in which he was concerned with this
type of piano piece, a type that the whole world loved, admired, and above all,
played. Even though he revealed his deepest, most intimate feelings in many of
the lyrical pieces, the music remains approachable and is often played. It
would probably be hard to find the piano student who has not learned to
love these lyrical pieces, in spite of their occasional difficulty, and does
not feel that the struggle has been worth while, if the results are good. One
should ignore the fact that they have at times been looked upon with disdain as
inferior. In fact they have survived as music that is both living and vital,
because they are so strongly rooted in the consciousness of the people.
The expression
Lyric Pieces is actually Grieg's own
invention, but does not describe a genre. Character-pieces for the piano, with
or without descriptive titles, have a long tradition and Grieg is only one to
contribute to this, although his contribution is a very important one. Each of
his lyric pieces, like Mendelssohn's
Lieder ohne Worte, expresses only
one mood, one feeling. From the publication of the second book, in 1883, (the
first one came out in 1867), Grieg went on to publish collections of
Lyric Pieces
at regular intervals until 1901. They cover the greater part of Grieg's life
as an established composer, and represent more or less every single facet of
his personal style.
No attempt has been made to hide the fact that the lyric pieces
gradually became good business, both for Grieg himself, as well as for the
publishers. In a letter to Peters, Grieg called them
Semmeln - fragrant,
fresh-baked, bread - and the fact of the matter is that they were indeed sold
like "hot cakes". No wonder the publisher Peters, in London and Frankfurt, was delighted every time Grieg delivered a manuscript for a new album of piano
pieces. He was strongly attached to many of these pieces and enjoyed playing
them, while there were others that he was not pleased with at all. In a letter
to his friend, Emil Horneman, he writes:
My Silence is unforgivable, because I honestIy haven't done
anything, other than the so-called, "Lyric Pieces", which are
surrounding me like lice and fleas in the country. (Letter to Emil
Horneman, 15 September 1898)
Other people also made snide remarks about them, such as Debussy's
comment that the lyric pieces were like "pink candies filled with snow,"
probably alluding to the pink covers on the editions of the albums from Peters.
Grieg's
Lyric Pieces contain 66 compositions, published in
ten albums, during the years from 1867 to 1901. Most of these albums were
printed again several times, and many of the pieces were published separately.
Several of the most popular of them were published in innumerable arrangements,
some by Grieg himself, but mostly by others.
Øyvind
Nordheim
English translation: Phyllis Nyquist
For the complete programme notes for the individual volumes of the Lyric Pieces
, please refer to the 'About This Recording' for Naxos 8.553393 (Books 1 to 3), 8.553394 (Books 4 to 7) and 8.553395 (Books 8 to 10) on the naxos.com website or Naxos Digital Library.