Alnæs piano concerto - III.wmv

Eyvind Alnæs (18721932) played an important role in the musical life of Oslo during the first part of the twentieth century. For thirty-seven years he was an organist in several churches, ending his days as organist and precentor at the cathedral in Oslo. At the beginning of the twentieth century it was still impossible to earn a living as a full-time church musician in Norway, so Alnæs supplemented his income by working in different musical fields. He conducted several choirs and also became the chairman of the Norwegian Composers Association and a member of the board of TONO, the Norwegian performing rights society. Alnæs was a renowned pianist and accompanist; as part of his piano and organ teaching he published piano and organ methods and practical collections of music.

Alnæs received his musical education at the private music conservatory in Oslo. He continued his studies in Leipzig, where he was taught composition by Carl Reinecke. After the premiere of his first symphony in 1896 he received a scholarship giving him the opportunity to study composition with Julius Ruthardt in Berlin. The first results of his time in Berlin were the Variations symphoniques for orchestra (1898) and several smaller piano pieces. A concert presenting his orchestral music in Leipzig in 1900 revealed his ambitions as a composer, but like Edvard Grieg he was forced to undertake a range of musical tasks which took up much of the time he could devote to composing. Twenty-four of his forty-five opuses are collections of songs, and Alnæs became one of Scandinavias most performed song composers. His piano music, which mostly consists of poetic miniatures, also has a dominant place in his output, demonstrating that Alnæs aimed to compose music that his publishers would find marketable. Alnæs also composed chamber and choral music, but after 1900 the piano concerto and the second symphony are the only works on a larger scale.

The Piano Concerto in D major, Op 27, and the two symphonies are composed in Classical forms with a late-Romantic harmonic style, placing Alnæs in the same tradition as Rubinstein and Rachmaninov. His colleague Gerhard Schjelderup characterized Alnæs in 1921 as a typical lyricist who did not develop new and individual methods. In Schjelderups opinion Alnæs was a healthy and true musician, keeping both feet on the ground and remaining firmly within an expressive sphere accessible to his listeners. Schjelderup described the piano music as empty and vacuous, but it is doubtful that he ever heard the piano concerto, which is a firework of life and energy, far removed from the cathedral organists weekly chorale improvisations on the organ.

The first movement, in a brilliant and shining D major, has a large-scale and impressive character reminiscent of Rachmaninov. Glittering virtuoso piano passages alternate with orchestral writing that—with its eight horns, six trombones, four trumpets and two bass tubas—has a Wagnerian force. In complete contrast, the second movement has a tragic character in the mood of a funeral march. A timpani roll à la Grieg then launches the listener into a delicious waltz, which in grace and vigour stands alongside Webers Aufforderung zum Tanz. The last movement is a tribute to the Viennese waltz and a splendid mixture of popular melody and virtuoso piano-writing that demands spontaneous applause.

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[natangren]

is coming the others movement,,,

[d3o1r0i3n1a989]

@bartje11 thank you very much :)

[solarmanful]

Last mov reminisent of Rachmaninov paganini variations

[bartje11]

@d3o1r0i3n1a989 Check the Hyperion label. It's from the Romantic Piano Concerto series (Amazon.com)

[d3o1r0i3n1a989]

I really like his music....who has the other movements of this piano concerto? Where can i find them?

[PiscaCPT]

Bravo! Cheers from Brazil

[Meyerbeer1]

@dalecampbl6 Not everything has to be unique or does it?

[Meyerbeer1]

What a wonderful concerto.