Forgotten Melodies

Welcome to Episode Five of The Forgotten Melodies Podcast, featuring Daniel Grimwood.

This week, to mark the 100th anniversary of his death in 1907, Danny focuses exclusively on the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.

Born in Bergen to a musical family, Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843-1907) studied piano at the Leipzig conservatory and spent a number of years living in Denmark.

He is best known for his orchestral suite Peer Gynt and his Piano Concerto in A minor, although he wrote a number of lesser-known works, many of them for solo piano.

If you have any comments or feedback, please feel free to email mike@forgottenmelodiespodcast.com or to call our Audio Comment line on 020 7193 1295 (from the UK) or +44 20 7193 1295 (from outside the UK). Or you can leave a comment right here on the Forgotten Melodies website!

Track Listing:

- Four pieces from 25 Norwegian Folk Songs & Dances (Op.17): No.5 (Dance from Jølster); No.12 (Solfager and the Snake King); No.15 (Last Saturday Evening) and No.16 (I Know a Little Maiden)
- Ballade in G minor (Op.24)
- Improvisation on Two Norwegian Folk Songs (Op.29)
- Bridal Procession, from Pictures from Folk Life (Op.19 No.2)

Listen Now:

 Forgotten Melodies 005 [44:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome to Episode Four of The Forgotten Melodies Podcast, featuring Daniel Grimwood.

On this week’s show, Danny plays pieces by two Russian composers, Lyapunov and Rachmaninov.

Sergei Lyapunov (1859-1924) studied under Balakirev and was heavily influenced by him. He was a pianist of the highest virtuosity and a composer of mostly solo piano works, although he also wrote two symphonies, two piano concerti and a symphonic poem.

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) was probably the last of the Great Romantic composers and his skills as a pianist were legendary. He left Russia following the 1917 Revolution and eventually settled in the USA, where he spent the rest of his life.

If you have any comments or feedback, please feel free to email mike@forgottenmelodiespodcast.com or to call our Audio Comment line on 020 7193 1295 (from the UK) or +44 20 7193 1295 (from outside the UK). Or you can leave a comment right here on the Forgotten Melodies website!

Track Listing:

- “Nuit d’Ete” from 12 Trascendental Etudes (op.11, No.5 in E major) by Sergei Lyapunov
- Variations on a Theme of Corelli (Op.42 in D minor), by Sergei Rachmaninov

Listen Now:

 Forgotten Melodies 004 [38:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome to Episode Three of The Forgotten Melodies Podcast, featuring Daniel Grimwood.

This week, Danny focuses on two French composers, Charles Valentin Alkan and Francois Couperin (and finishes with a spot of JS Bach for good measure!).

Alkan (1813-1888), a contemporary of Chopin and Liszt, wrote almost exclusively for the keyboard, with a volume of work ranging from the formidably challenging to the lyrically charming. Danny plays two of his pieces that demonstrate this diversity.

Couperin (1668-1733) was a Baroque composer, whose work (particularly his book “The Art of Harpsichord playing”) influenced many composers, one of whom was the great Johann Sebastian Bach (who went on to adopt Couperin’s fingering system).

If you have any comments or feedback, please feel free to email mike@forgottenmelodiespodcast.com or to call our Audio Comment line on 020 7193 1295 (from the UK) or +44 20 7193 1295 (from outside the UK). Or you can leave a comment right here on the Forgotten Melodies website!

Track Listing:

- Etude for Piano in D minor, Op.27 “Le Chemin de Fer” by Charles Valentin Alkan
- Barcarolle (from Troisieme Recuil de Chants, Op.65 no.6) by Charles Valentin Alkan
- Les Baricades Misterieuses (from Pieces de Clavecin Book 2, Ordre 6 in B flat major) by Francois Couperin
- Allemande (from 6th Partita in E minor, BWV 830) by Johann Sebastian Bach

Listen Now:

 Forgotten Melodies 003 [22:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome to Episode Two of The Forgotten Melodies Podcast.

This week, Danny Grimwood traces a path from the green fields of Ireland to the icy steppes of Russia, as he discusses how two western composers played a significant part in the development of Russian piano music.

To demonstrate this, Danny plays pieces by John Field, Adolf von Heselt, Mily Balakirev and Nikolai Medtner.

We appreciate all feedback, so please feel free to email mike@forgottenmelodiespodcast.com or to call our Audio Comment line on 020 7193 1295 (from the UK) or +44 20 7193 1295 (from outside the UK). Or you can leave a comment right here on the Forgotten Melodies website!

Track Listing:

- Nocturne no.2 in C Minor (from 18 Nocturnes) by John Field
- Etude no.4 in E major “Ave Maria” (from Douze Etudes de Salon, Op.5) by Adolf von Henselt
- Reverie for Piano in F major by Mily Balakirev
- Canzona Serenata (from Forgotten Melodies, Op.38, No.6) by Nikolai Medtner

Listen Now:

 Forgotten Melodies 002 [29:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome to Episode One of “Forgotten Melodies”, the podcast featuring mostly undiscovered piano works by composers you may not have heard of before (and a few who you probably have), played by Daniel Grimwood, one of the UK’s most exciting young pianists.

For this, the first show in the series, Danny plays pieces by Kara Karaev, Eduard Tubin, Paul de Maleingreau and Chu Wang Hua, and talks briefly about each piece with show host and producer Mike O’Hara.

We appreciate all feedback, so please feel free to email mike@forgottenmelodiespodcast.com or to call our Audio Comment line on 020 7193 1295 (from the UK) or +44 20 7193 1295 (from outside the UK) and share your thoughts on the music, the podcast, or anything else for that matter!

Track Listing:

- Prelude No.7 (from 24 Preludes for Piano) by Kara Karaev
- Variations on Laplandian Tunes (from Piano Sonata no.2) by Eduard Tubin
- Sarabande by Paul de Maleingreau
- Love Song from Sichuan by Chu Wang Hua

Listen Now:

 Forgotten Melodies 001 [28:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hello and welcome to Forgotten Melodies, the podcast that features some of the most beautiful piano music you’ve never heard, played by one of the UK’s most exciting young pianists, Daniel Grimwood.

Each episode of the show features Danny playing four “forgotten melodies” - captivating piano pieces which you are unlikely to have heard before (with the odd exception!) - and discussing their origin and what they mean to him with the show’s host and producer, Mike O’Hara.

Check back soon for Episode One!