Benjamin Grosvenor: Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 

I have spotted him in various other concerts with pianists reacting vividly to their playing! There are some other moments in this video that he does it again. True appreciation!

@@yossercDefinitely!

Agreed 💯 Percent!!!!!

@@scottmiller6495 xtacular!

I have read somewhere, can’t remember where, that in the case of work such as this and the Tchaikovsky 1st concerto, That it is permissible to applaud after a very popular first movement that ends with a bang. Let’s face it - people applied after favorite opera arias all the time.

Hard to resist such a magnificent performance, brilliant Benjamin and orchestra.

often misinterpreted how so? Any examples? I'm genuinely curious.

teddy toto agreed. This belongs with the absolute best interpretations. The third movement is absolutely electrifying.

teddy toto yes. The overall performance is amazing!

teddy toto couldn’t agree more. Grosvenor breathes life into this masterpiece.

I also think this is a very good performance, very alive and rather stormy (yet polite). But to those who say that they never heard anything better, well... probably because they never listened to great interpretations from the past. Grosvenor is a very talented young pianist but has not (yet?) the grandeur and profundity of a Richer nor the immaculate grace and fine taste of a Michelangeli - who both played this, Prague and BBC recordings respectively for their best ones. Still, a valuable interpretation. PS With the advent of asian interpreters, third movements are always more and more technically ferocious to face tough competition in terms of finger dexterity... not sure at all I like this trend so much, actually, there always a more ferocious 3rd movement to watch out so be careful to name the definitive one ;)

great commentary. thx. And I agree with you about the technical ferocity - 3rd mvmt trend. It's a shame, because this concerto is so much more than that. One of my favs (in addition to the Richter and Michelangelo interpretations you mention (I know them well!)) is Samson Francois. Have you heard it? It is spellbinding! The reason I consider this a truly great performance is not just the piano. It is the whole performance, orchestra and piano. It's truly exceptional!

I don't know it, unfortunately... have the complete recs of Francois by EMI but isn't in there. Which recording is it?

Daniele surprised I couldn't find the performance on RU-vid. But here is a link to the DVD www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0001AW02U/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489384628&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=samson+francois+grieg

He really is - totally captivating

A glorious performance!!! Great, great,great!!!

Yes it is a lovely performance by all concerned, fresh, intelligent and musically perceptive. But do get the basics right, especially when they are given in the upload. I did a double take when you describe the orchestra as the Berlin Phil largely because I did not recognize a single person... that's because it is the Bergen Philharmonic whose performances I will now look out for more deliberately.

It's actually the Bergen Philarmonic, but no worse for it!

Agreed he seems like a very fine young man and extremely talented !!!!!

George Chaplain The 1st movement in my opinion was also a great bit of music as well. Don’t forget those Octave Chromatics and Sevenths. Grieg is truly a downplayed Genius. He is not just the man who wrote “In The Hall of The Mountain King”. He also wrote Piano Sonata No.7 in Eb major. He also wrote Peer Gynt (both overture and soundtrack). And also, he wrote ‘Morning Mood’. He was overall, one of the many downplayed Geniuses in Classical Music or instrumental music to begin with. 🇬🇧👍🏻🇬🇧

OMG YOU SAW HIM I AM SUCH A FAN HE IS THE BEST PERSON TO PLAY THE PIANO EVER!

It,s beyond incredible something for all time, Period !!!!!

And not forgetting the fantastic Danill Trifonov as well !!!!!

Agreed!!

More 'stuff' on Benjamin here if you're interested :) www.thepianovault.com/benjamingrosvenor

@@ThePianoVault lol

@@richelleolson5917 Why lol?

I am right there with you! That Benjamin is able to give life to this piece amazes me every time I listen!

He actually is performing at SCFTA in Orange County this May.

We’re doing this for homeschool too 😊 and we’re also in the woods! 😂

Come to Norway and see what inspired Grieg. The landscape

Тоже только что подумала об этом...родная земля Э.Грига ! Очень хороший Бенджамин,удачи !

Ken W Anderson ...it's blessed, not blest...he must have worked enormously hard and had dedicated, great teachers to be where he is now...the 'gift' you refer to is actually WANTING to play..!😊😋

Its just a spelling from another English-speaking nation.

@@andrewkennaugh1065 Here you are again needlessly attacking someone.

Because that ending deserves applause! I'm not sure the custom of keeping quiet between movements was a thing in Grieg's time.

Because YOLO

You can still apply romantic gestures while maintaining punctuality in attack. That's about how he plays it here.

@@alhfgsp Yes--I edited my comment to clarify that I enthusiastically agree with you!

You should give Andsnes (with Jansons and the BPO) a listen

@@MisterPathetique better than Lipatti’s?

@@MisterPathetique Also Alexander Malofeev is becoming the best of the 21st century !!!!!

Lauri Mäki-Kojola ...as a result of rehearsing... it's not exactly The Rite of Spring...😂😊

Bob Trenwith The point is,it is the simplest of introductions--the conductor beats four and they're in!😊 They're professional musicians,for goodness sake, not a school orchestra and a ten year old pianist...😋 It's bread and butter to them, seriously!Get over it!😂😃😃

@@andrewkennaugh1065 Well, rarely do I hear even professional orchestras nailing it.

@@andrewkennaugh1065 Why do *ALL* your comments come with a negative or attacking tone?

you mean totally out of the rhythm...!

Tremendous performance Sensational !!!!!

Qìiu

Anything on RU-vid does not do justice to most works of music. The sound is usually compressed which in turn affects the end result. I over came this problem by buying a high qualithy set of speakers which transformed this into a wonderful performance. Listen to this on my laptop is terrible to say the least. The only reason I am writing this is due to me having to work ffrom home. I need music to concentrate,but on my desktop the sound includint the bass is just simply stunning.

In seriousness, just discovered Benjamin Grosvenor today and he is a revelation!

@@jonscriven Oh yes! What a classic that was! You made me snort my wine!

Why not clap between movements? :)

My point was it's unusual .You almost never see an audience clap between movements.Cough yes, but not clap.Besides Clapping does sort of interrupt the flow and lengthen the time between the movements, of what is actually one piece.This would seem to be the reason why it's general not done. Anyway it was a fine performance so thanks for the upload.

It was a fine performance indeed. Clapping between movements is probably more common than you think in live performances these days. You only have to listen to the BBC Proms to witness that. I'm not sure about the flow being interrupted though? Doesn't bother me at all. Both Benjamin and the orchestra members didn't seem to mind either :) Traditions change and evolve with audiences just as they do with performance practice. I'm glad you enjoyed the performance!

Yes traditions change, but I'm not much of a fan of that change. It doesn't bother me in this performance, but I don't see how you don't understand their point about the flow. Can you imagine clapping between III and IV of Sibelius 2? Anyway, great upload. So much effort and dedication goes into preserving the artistic value of these pieces that I think it's a little on the haphazard side, if not disrespectful to the intentions of these composers.

Hi Jesse. I completely understand the point made about flow, however, it applies more to some pieces than others depending on the context. As you say, it doesn't bother you in this performance. Some people just complain about clapping for the sake of it, and have no solid reason to justify their complaint. I see no problem (or interruption to the 'flow') with clapping after the first movement of this particular concerto. It's a high intensity first movement, and a bit of spontaneous clapping could perhaps be considered as a release of tension, as well as appreciation for the music making that just occurred. However, clapping after the second movement might be less 'appropriate' in this context... which of course the audience didn't do. Regarding "preserving the artistic value of these pieces" - I'm not sure that I'd go as far to say that a bit of clapping is going to diminish their value. It has had the resilience to survive for this long, and regardless of clapping, will probably continue to survive. I don't think it needs putting in some sort of sterile glass cabinet with 'do not touch' written on the side. ;) I think listeners need to accept that sometimes, when listening to live music and sharing that experience with others, things might happen that they wouldn't necessarily agree with if they had a choice. Just a thought.... but if as a consequence of this, they feel their musical experience has been so impeded that they need to complain about it (as some people clearly do), perhaps they should stick to listening to the cleanliness of a studio recording, with absolute silence between movements, no interruptions, no coughing or rustling etc etc. That way, they can save their frustrations for something else ;) Really glad you liked the upload. It's a cracking performance isn't it!

Sorry, I didn't realise that. Thanks! (However, there's a confusing footnote about Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell and Leon Fleisher)

I believe it is the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Yamada. One of the best recordings of this concerto that I have ever heard!

Kazuki Yamada /Bergen philharmonic orch. in Norway

Thanks. Somebody finally mentioned the name of the conductor, too.

Indeed not - Barenboim, Ashkenazy, Uchida, Lugansky, Grimaud, Zimerman, Hough, Lortie, Hamelin, Volodos, Berezovsky, Bhuniatishvilli, Pollini, Sokolov, Aimard, Argerich, Andsnes, Angelich , Ax, Crossley, Donohoe, Giltburg, ETC, ETC, ETC! are all not Chinese!

John Ogden?

Irene Scharrer, Dame Myra Hess, Clifford Curzon, Moura Lympany, Harriet Cohen, etc.