EDVARD GRIEG
(born 1843 in Bergen; died 1907 in Bergen)

Sonata No.1 in F Major Op.8 (1865)

I. Allegro con brio
II. Allegretto quasi Andante
III. Allegro molto vivace

Edvard Grieg was an aspiring composer of 22 when he wrote his first violin sonata. He was spending the summer of 1865 in Rungsted, near Copenhagen, after several years of study at the renowned Leipzig Conservatory, where he had been thoroughly indoctrinated in the German romanticism of Brahms and Schumann. To this mix was added his emerging interest in the folk traditions of Scandinavia, and in particular, Norway, for which he later became so well-known. Grieg's most famous works, the Peer Gynt and Holberg suites and his Piano Concerto in A minor, all pay homage to his Norwegian heritage.

Grieg only composed six chamber works, of which three are sonatas for violin and piano, written between 1865 and 1887. These sonatas had a special place for Grieg, and he once commented, "they each represent a period in my development: the first, naive, rich in ideas ... the second, nationalistic ... and the third, a wider horizon. They each have brought me great luck."

Upon seeing the score of Grieg's first sonata for violin and piano, Franz Liszt was so taken by it that he immediately invited the young composer to visit him. Liszt's enthusiastic support greatly enhanced Grieg's reputation and raised awareness of his compositional gifts.

Unsurprisingly, in the F Major Sonata, there is a strong presence of German romanticism although it is infused with melodies and harmonies of the Norwegian folk music with which the young composer was rapidly becoming enchanted. After the two quiet opening chords by the piano, the violin immediately launches into the main theme which is both sweet and hopeful. The impression of winds rippling under the current of the melodic lines add to the fantasy and the freshness of the music.

Grieg's music can sometimes be criticized for sounding familiar or derivative. Certainly, there are passages that can make the listener think, "haven't I heard this somewhere before?" But what distinguishes it is its flow - which is different from how fast or slow the tempo markings are - and its fiery temperamental sections in the midst of which one always finds fantasy and simple, folkloric sentiments. These characteristics are already clear in early works, including the F Major Sonata.

The buoyant first movement ends surprisingly quietly, followed by the Scherzo-form second movement in which an old-style dance in A minor sandwiches a festive folk dance in A major. This is unconventional as the scherzo is usually reserved to follow the slow movement. The Allegro molto vivace which serves as the finale of the Sonata returns to an outgoing, more jovial mood. It is even more eager and energetic than the opening Allegro con brio and gives more opportunities for virtuosity in both instruments without ever straying too far from flashes of tenderness.

Grieg was very proud of his F Major Sonata. It was first performed in Christiania (now Oslo) in 1865 in the first concert devoted entirely to Norwegian music, but Grieg also continued to advocate it later in his life. The sonata was championed in the composer's lifetime by the great violinist Josef Joachim, who often performed it with Grieg himself at the piano. Although the violinist Oscar Shumsky later played it on his international recital tours, in recent years it has returned to semi-oblivion. A beautiful and accessible work, it deserves to be better known.