For a short moment, I thought I lost it. My administration was not right! Where is the Grieg pianoconcerto? I know I have it somewhere, because the administration says so. But where is it? Oh wait… 10 inches. I keep them separate, because they are too small and might hide themselves between the bigger 12 inch records.
This is an oldie. Discogs says 1963, the record itself says nothing, and Spotify claims 1958 as the recording year. Miraculously, I believe Spotify here. This record might have been a re-release of an older recording.
Griegs masterwork seems to have inspired many early releases. There is a huge list of recordings that are even older than this one. It was the first pianoconcerto ever recorded, in 1909. The earliest I can find on streaming is from 1927, though earlier ones might be out there that are not properly noted as such.
Grieg wrote his only pianoconcerto (yes there is another one, but it was never finished) in his youth, at 24. It is a youthful work, starting with a enthusiastic roll on the timpani, over a beautiful and lyrical adagio to touches of a Norwegian dance in the end. It is that dance that is shown on the cover: stand on your head and wave with arms and legs. According to a description from 1819.