Arthur de Greef - Piano Concerto No. 1, 2, 3

 

Arthur De Greef

 

(10 October 1862 – 29 August 1940) was a Belgian pianist and composer

 

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor (1914)

Dedication: Dédié à son ami et maître Camille Saint-Saëns

1. Modéré - Largement (0:00)
2. Scherzo -- (further in) un peu moins vite -- Beaucoup moins vite - au mouvement (11:13)
3. Assez lent (18:10)
4. Animé (25:34)

 

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat minor

I. Angoisse (Fear): Agitato 0:00
II. Separation: Lento ma non troppo 13:20
III. Sursum corda! (Let all hearts rejoice!): Con moto ed energico 19:58

André De Groote, piano
Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Frédéric Devreese, conductor

 

[☆5] Piano Concerto No. 3 ("Concertino") for piano and small orchestra (1932)

Yvon van den Berge, piano. Played by the Orchestra of the Belgian Radio conducted by Daniël Sternefeldt
Illustration: Market square in Brussels, approx. 1900.

 

Born in Louvain, he won first prize in a local music competition at the age of 11 and subsequently enrolled at the Brussels Conservatoire. His main teacher there was Louis Brassin, a former pupil of Ignaz Moscheles, although he also took lessons from other staffers at the institution, including Joseph Dupont, François-Auguste Gevaert and Fernand Kufferath.[1]

After graduating with high distinction from the Conservatoire at the age of 17, De Greef went to Weimar to complete his studies under Franz Liszt. He was a pupil of Liszt for two years.[2]

Following the Weimar sojourn, De Greef embarked on a career as a concert pianist, travelling widely. He was a friend of Edvard Grieg, whose Piano Concerto he had played publicly in 1898, and who called him "the best performer of my music I have met with". In addition, he enjoyed the endorsement of Camille Saint-Saëns. British critic Jonathan Woolf has written: "De Greef was, in all respects, an intensely musical, non-sensationalist, eloquent and impressive musician and whilst not being averse to some of the interventionist tactics of his contemporaries (retouching of the score) remained sympathetically self-effacing".[2]

De Greef composed a sizeable quantity of music, virtually all of which is now unknown. Among his works are two piano concertos. He was a devoted teacher, and taught piano at the Brussels Conservatoire for many years.[2]