Arthur de Greef (1862-1940): Grieg - Piano Concerto (2 of 4)

Arthur de Greef was one of the Liszt pupils from the late 1870s through the 1880s, contemporary with Rosenthal and Albéniz. He is best known for his 30-year association with Grieg, who spoke of de Greef as the finest performer of his works there was.

De Greef stands out amongst the Liszt pupils, and indeed from almost everyone of his generation, for the quite modern approach he had to interpretation. His performance is "anti-interventionist" and highly objective, in a non-romantic sort of way. His performances of Chopin prefigure the approach taken by Artur Rubenstein, of great delicacy and a certain cool straightforwardness.

His solo piano work has one failing - that of failing to generate the widest range of dynamic levels, and absence of a certain kind of beckoning intimacy. To be quite honest, I am not personally a fan of his solo performance, though it will appeal to many who find the 19th century style of piano too affected.

His concerto work is very important, and the alternation with the orchestra adds the right degree of tonal variety to make the performances sufficiently coloured. His refusal to get swept up in the spirit of the moment allows him to articulate the large-scale structure of concerto movements very satisfying.

I suppose his recording of the Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor op.16 must be one of the most important recordings of the period, being the premier uncut recording, and by a pianist Grieg extolled and worked with (though by the early 1900s Grieg had similarly endorsed Percy Grainger and Severin Eisenberger as performers of his music, and both also recorded the concerto).

This recording comes from 1927. It is heroic and masculine, with very little surface glitter or dwelling on the poetry of the moment - as is typical of the pianist. It is an unorthodox interpretation by today's standards, but a very fine one nonetheless.

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