resting on the lever, a pianist can play repeated notes, staccato notes and trills with much
more speed than is possible on an upright piano.
The grand piano is a large instrument for which the ideal setting is a spacious room with
high ceilings for proper resonance. There are several sizes of grand piano: a concert
grand 2.2m to 3m long, a parlour grand 1.7m to 2.2m long and the baby grand which may
be shorter than it is wide. Longer pianos have a better sound and lower inharmonicity of
the strings. This is partly because the strings will become closer to equal temperament in
relation to the standard pitch with less stretching. Full size grand pianos are used for
public concerts while smaller grand pianos are often chosen for domestic use where space
and cost are considerations.
GREEF
Arthur de Greef (1862-1940) was born in Louvain in Belgium on 10 October 1862 and
died in Brussels on 29 August 1940. He studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of
Brussels under Louis Brassin, a pupil of Ignaz Moscheles. After graduating with
distinction at the age of seventeen he went to Weimar to complete his studies under Liszt.
After two years at Weimar he embarked on a successful career as a concert pianist and
toured Europe regularly as a renowned performer of Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt.
In 1885 he became a professor of piano at the Brussels Conservatory, holding this
position until 1930. He was a friend of Grieg and Saint-Saëns and often performed their
respective piano concertos in A minor and G minor as well as performing Grieg’s piano
works in concert. Grieg described de Greef as ‘the best performer of my works I have
met with.’ De Greef also enjoyed the endorsement of Saint-Saëns. From 1916 he played
in the London ‘Proms’, often on the opening night. He performed his own piano
concerto at the 1921 ‘Proms’.
De Greef composed a fantasy for piano and orchestra, a number of piano pieces and
studies, and some songs. His pupils included Francis de Bourguignon, Victor Buesst,
Maurice Cole, John D. Davis, C. Fontova, Richard Hageman, William James, Alberto
Jonas, Herbert Menges, Raymond Moulart, Edmundo Pallemaerts, Marcel Poot and
Lewis Richards. De Greef made Liszt discs but did not make any Liszt rolls.
GRIEG
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) as a piano composer is mainly known for his popular Piano
Concerto in A minor opus 16.
Grieg also wrote music for piano solo including his ‘Lyric Pieces’ and ‘Wedding Day at
Troldhaugen’. His songs for voice and piano include the popular ‘Ich liebe dich’.
Grieg’s music is influenced by Norwegian folk song. His music has a gentle romanticism,
melodic charm and harmonic originality.