KHATIA BUNIATISHVILI - PLAYS GRIEG'S PIANO CONCERTO

GRIEG'S PIANO CONCERTO

KHATIA BUNIATISHVILI

Edvard Grieg. Orchestre

Songwriter: Edvard Grieg

instrument: piano

country: geórgia/tbilisi

album: motherland

label: sony classical

genre: classic

year: 2014

Born in Georgia, Khatia Buniatishvili discovered piano at the early age of three. She gave her first concert with Tbilisi Chamber Orchestra when she was six and was subsequently invited to tour internationally with them. Throughout her career, she has performed at venues around the world, such as Carnegie Hall (New York), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Royal Festival Hall (London), Musikverein and Konzerthaus (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Berlin Philharmonie, Paris Philharmonie, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris), La Scala (Milan), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona), Victoria Hall (Geneva), Tonhalle (Zurich), Rudolfinum (Prague), Grand Theater (Shanghai), Beijing NCPA (Beijing), NCPA (Mumbai), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), and Esplanade Theatre (Singapore). Khatia has participated in the Salzburg, Verbier, Gstaad Menuhin, La Roque d’Anthéron, and iTunes festivals, as well as LA’s Hollywood Bowl, BBC Proms, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, and Progetto Martha Argerich.

Georgian classical pianist Khatia Buniatishvili plays the Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 by Edvard Grieg. Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse conducted by Tugan Sokhiev. Composed in 1868, it was the only concerto that the Norwegian composer completed. It is one of Grieg’s most popular works and among the most popular of all piano concerti.

The concerto is in three movements:

Allegro molto moderato (A minor)

Adagio (D-flat major)

Allegro moderato molto e marcato – Quasi presto – Andante maestoso (A minor → F major → A minor → A major)

The first movement is noted for the timpani roll in the first bar that leads to a dramatic piano flourish. The movement is in the Sonata form. The movement finishes with a virtuosic cadenza and a similar flourish as in the beginning.

The second movement is a lyrical movement in D-flat major, which leads directly into the third movement.

The third movement opens in A minor 4/4 time with an energetic theme (Theme 1), which is followed by a lyrical theme in F major (Theme 2). The movement returns to Theme 1. Following this recapitulation is the 3/4 A major Quasi presto section, which consists of a variation of Theme 1. The movement concludes with the Andante maestoso in A major, which consists of a dramatic rendition of Theme 2 (as opposed to the lyrical fashion with which Theme 2 is introduced).