In Autumn (Grieg)

In Autumn, Op. 11 is a concert overture written by Edvard Grieg in 1865.

History

On a visit to Copenhagen, Grieg showed his overture to Gade, who told Grieg: "This is trash, Grieg; go home and write something better." After this, Grieg arranged this overture for piano duet and sent it in to Swedish Academy competition. The overture took top place and was published in its duet form in Stockholm. Curiously enough, one of the judges was Gade!

Instrumentation

The overture is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, bass tuba, 3 timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and strings.

Musical Analysis

The opening "Andante" in D major starts with chords played by the orchestra contrasting with a sunny woodwind theme. The tension slowly builds to a D minor "Allegro" section in sonata form. The orchestra takes up the main theme in D minor taken from a song entitled "Autumn Storm." After the main theme, we hear a secondary theme in F major. The development brings the return of previous themes through a series of restless modulations. After a slower section for horn and strings, the recapitulation brings the return of the main themes. The overture concludes with a triumphant reprise of the opening woodwind theme.

Recordings

*Maurice Abravanel conducting the Utah Symphony Orchestra. Recorded in 1975 and released in 1992 by Vox.
*Sir Thomas Beecham conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded in 1955 and released in 1999 by EMI Classics.
*Neeme Järvi conducting the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Recorded in 1988 and released in 1989 by Deutsche Grammophon.
*Okko Kamu conducting the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Recorded in 1981 and released in 1994 by Bis.