The Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16, by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) is one of the most popular concertos ever written and one of the most recognizable of all musical works in the repertoire. Grieg composed it in the summer of 1868, when he was 25, while on a visit to Denmark with his wife and infant daughter. It is a work of youthful ebullience and great melodic inspiration, much of it derived from Norway’s rich folk music tradition.
One of the first to hear the concerto, Franz Liszt played through it by sight when Grieg first showed him the score in manuscript. The great lion of nineteenth-century musical life warmly encouraged the young composer. Soon this deeply Romantic work, filled with thrilling melodies and stirring sonorities, would become a favorite of concert audiences worldwide. The only piano concerto Grieg composed, it is reprinted here from the authoritative full-score edition published by C. F. Peters of Leipzig.