Press preview Grieg Concerto with Stewart Goodyear
On Tuesday, WWFM host David Osenberg aired a live call-in interview with pianist Stewart Goodyear about Grieg’s Piano Concerto, which Goodyear performs with the NJSO and conductor Gemma New this Thursday–Sunday, October 6–9, at four venues across New Jersey.
The Asbury Park Press also previews this week’s concerts:
Along with the Grieg, the orchestra will perform Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 and New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn (1915-2001).
Both Sibelius and Lilburn had periods of nationalist-inspired works during the 20th century. Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 is often associated with Finland’s struggle for independence.
Lilburn is considered the father of New Zealand classical music. His piece on this program, titled “Aotearoa” Overture, was written in 1940 and inspired by the country’s coastline. It takes its title from the Maori word for New Zealand.
The NJSO conductor of the “Aotearoa” is another New Zealander. New was formerly the NJSO associate conductor but has accepted a position as the St. Louis Symphony’s resident conductor. She is returning in a guest role to lead the NJSO for this program.
Composed in 1868, the Grieg Piano Concerto shows the influence of the folk music of his native Norway, an aspect that associates the concerto closely with that country. Its opening flourish is one of the most famous moments in the concerto repertoire. Soloist Stewart Goodyear described the music as athletic and beautiful and has said the work “inspired me to become a concert pianist … I hear a very rustic quality in the Grieg concerto. It is filled with pride, a true celebration of where the composer came from.”
» Read the full preview at www.app.com.
In an NJSO interview, Goodyear chats about his lifelong affinity for the concerto:
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.
...
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.”
» Read more thoughts from Goodyear.
» RELATED: What makes a concert special?