Edvard Grieg, Lyric Pieces - selections from Lyriske stykker opp. 12, 38, 43, 47, 54, 57, 62, 65, 68, and 71 - Stephen Hough pf - Hyperion 68070, 2015 (1 CD: 73 minutes), $20
01 Aug 2017-Nineteenth-century music review (Cambridge University Press (CUP))-Vol. 14, Iss: 2, pp 275-277
About: This article is published in Nineteenth-century music review.The article was published on 2017-08-01. It has received None citations till now.
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01 Jan 2006TL;DR: Grimley as discussed by the authors examines the role that music and landscape played in the formation of Norwegian cultural identity in the nineteenth century, and the function that landscape has performed in Grieg's work.
Abstract: While Grieg's music continues to enjoy a prominent place in the concert hall and recording catalogues, it has yet to attract sustained analytical attention in Anglo-American scholarship. Daniel Grimley examines the role which music and landscape played in the formation of Norwegian cultural identity in the nineteenth century, and the function that landscape has performed in Grieg's work. It presents new perspectives on the relationships between music, landscape and identity. This tension between competing musical discourses - the folklorist, the nationalist and the modernist - offers one of the most vivid narratives in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century music, and suggests that Grieg is a more complex and challenging historical figure than his critical reception has often appeared to suggest. It is through the contested category of landscape, this book argues, that these tensions can be contextualised and ultimately resolved.
24 citations
TL;DR: Grieg described the piece as "absolutely crazy" and Rontgen agreed with the description, calling the piece "a veritable apotheosis of fifths" and continuing, "something like this is only an expression of moods, and for those who don't have a sense for that sort of thing it obviously will be unintelligible." as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Writing to his friend Julius R6ntgen about "Klokkeklang" ("BellRinging," Ex. 1), the last in his set of Lyric Pieces, op. 54, Grieg described the work as being "absolutely crazy." In his reply Rontgen agreed with the description, calling the piece "a veritable apotheosis of fifths" and continuing, "something like this is only an expression of moods, and for those who don't have a sense for that sort of thing it obviously will be unintelligible."' If "Bell-Ringing" is by any standard a remarkable and original work, with its almost exclusive texture of superimposed parallel fifths and apparent absence of diatonically functional harmonic meaning, then just as remarkable is the fact that it is hardly renowned or much written about. Its reception history consistently nods toward an emergent sense of impressionism and does not go much further than that.2 Perhaps we lack the right sort of context to deal with such a manifestation from a composer like Grieg; as a carrier of the strain of nationalism it may be that he has been marginalized so that such a piece is more easily regarded as interesting rather than significant. As the work of a petit mattre, his output is unlikely to be privileged enough to demand weighty readings. Grieg in fact seems to fulfill his own destiny in this respect in his rather sheepish assessment of the piece: rather than providing apocalyptic prose, he excuses himself for his radicalism. Rdntgen's subsequent reference to an "expression of moods" can be thought of as a further damping down of the implications of the work, taking refuge in the realms of evocation. Such an exchange could hardly have taken place within a "mainstream" context, where a confident sense of agenda might well have replaced the diffidence evident here. The other aspect of R6ntgen's reply-"for those who don't have a sense for that sort of thing [the piece] obviously will be unintelligible"-has not, alas, found a counterpart in reception. It has been far easier to speak of Grieg's prophecy of impressionism than to imagine how the work might have fared in its intended social context.
5 citations