What Grieg’s Piano Concerto means to Stewart Goodyear

Pianist Stewart Goodyear makes his sixth NJSO appearance with performances of Grieg’s Piano Concerto at four venues, October 6–9. The Philadelphia-based Canadian artist chats about his return to New Jersey stages, his lifelong affinity for Grieg’s concerto and the magic of a live performance.

What does Grieg’s Piano Concerto mean to you?
I just fell in love with the Grieg concerto when I first heard it as a child. It had such a different personality than everything I’d heard before. I was captivated—I loved the melodies and how unique and direct it was. Every time I would go to my grandparents’ house, they would play an LP of the Grieg on their huge gramophone, and the speakers would boom with the rumbling timpani. So every time I hear the concerto, I feel like I am at my grandparents’ cottage as a youngster.

How has your relationship with the Grieg concerto evolved over the years, and what is special about the work?
I first performed it in public when I was 13. By the next time I played it, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, I wanted to know more about Grieg and about Norway. I took a trip to Norway to be in that environment amongst the fjords. That was an incredible piano lesson—being there and soaking up the atmosphere. I felt that only then did I really learn to play the Grieg, that it was finally a part of me.

[When I think of the Grieg, I think of] Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Before he sings “Edelweiss,” he says to the audience: “I want to sing with you a love song. I know you share this love, I pray you never let it die.”

What is your history with the NJSO? What stands out about performing with an orchestra in multiple halls?
In my first performance with the NJSO [in the 1996–97 season], I shared a concert program with Take 6, an incredible group of singers. They sang on the second half of the program, and I performed a movement of Litolff’s Concerto Symphonique in D Minor on the first half. I have since performed many concerti with the NJSO—works by Bartók, Mozart and Tchaikovsky. [When you perform in different venues], every performance is a new experience. Each hall’s acoustics give the music [its own] sound, and the audiences are different. It’s always exciting, always new, always fresh.

What is special about returning to an orchestra with which you have performed before?
It’s almost like a family reunion. You know these members quite well, and you have a chance to visit with them during breaks, so it’s always a pleasure coming back. Every time I’m traveling, I try to explore the city and surroundings. I absolutely adore the country in New Jersey; I think it’s absolutely beautiful, and I love returning to New Jersey.

Before you appear with conductor Gemma New and the NJSO, you collaborate with New and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra this month. How important is the relationship between conductor and soloist?
It’s always important to have a wonderful relationship with the conductor. It’s a collaboration—a dance, really. Communicating telepathically, sharing ideas and the coming together of the minds is always exciting. When it clicks, it’s really magical. [Gemma and I] are both very excited about these New Jersey concerts.

What fuels you as a performer?
For actors who know their lines well, a performance is never about acting anymore. They bring those words to life, and it’s not like they are reciting them; it’s like the words are coming out of them so naturally. I feel that way every time I perform and collaborate with [other musicians]. We know these works, and so it’s a matter of how we react to one another to bring that magic onto the stage. For me, the audience has a lot to do with my interpretation and how I respond. So in that way, it almost becomes a community interpretation, like we are all involved—the audience, orchestra, conductor and myself.
 

Goodyear performs Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the NJSO on Thursday, October 6, at 1:30 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark; Friday, October 7, at 8 pm at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton; Saturday, October 8, at 8 pm at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank and Sunday, October 9, at 3 pm at the State Theatre in New Brunswick.

» View concert details and purchase tickets.