Grieg, Edvard

notated in brown ink on up to six two-stave systems per page, with a fine autograph dedication and signature at the end ("Humoreske til Fru Professor Anderson i Håb om naermere Bekjendtskab i Amerika fra Edvard Grieg Bergen d. 4.^de Sept[em]b[e]r. 1873 [Humoreske for Mrs Professor Anderson In hope of closer acquaintance in America...]"), pencil title in another hand to blank first page ("Humoreske by Grieg"), above this, also in pencil and probably in a third hand, "Prof. Anderson"

2 pages, plus 2 blanks (fols. 1r and 2v), folio (overall size: 35.2 x 53.5cm), contained within a transparent plastic sleeve with veneer border, small printed conservation label to fol. 1r, dated Bergen, 4 September 1873, split along hinge, a few small tears and stains

Paul Corneilson, 'Griegiana. A little-known autograph source in Wisconsin', Notes (2000), pp. 907ff.; Rasmus B. Anderson and Albert O. Barton, Life Story of Rasmus B. Anderson, 2nd. ed.(Madison, 1917), p. 199; Edvard Grieg, Samlede verker, vol.2, Klavermusikk: Andre originalkomposisjoner, ed. Dag Schjelderup-Ebbe (Frankfurt, 1986), pp.35-36

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This is a spectacular autograph of a well-known and characteristic piano work by Grieg. It is one of the most important music autographs by the composer still in private hands, and one which has never been offered at auction hitherto.

This autograph, which represents an important source for the Humoreske, was not consulted by the collected edition of Grieg's works, and contains numerous significant divergences from the current printed text.

It is by some margin the most significant Grieg autograph to appear at auction in recent times.

The remarkable circumstances surrounding the composition of this delightful piano work, first published as one of four Humoresques in 1865, have been recorded for posterity by the original recipient of the autograph, Rasmus B. Anderson, professor of Scandinavian literature at the University of Wisconsin, who had come to Norway in the summer of 1873 with the violinist Ole Bull in order to raise money for a statue to the Viking explorer Leif Ericson:

...On the north side of the city overlooking the harbour Edward Grieg had a cottage. It contained only one room and in it he had a Chickering piano. To this cottage he retired every day to do his composing. He wanted to be alone in a well lighted room with fine views from the windows. These things helped to inspire him ... In the course of my chat with him I told him that I had often watched Ole Bull when he improvised melodies on the violin and told him that I wondered how Grieg managed to get those melodies and harmonies on paper. He said: "I will show you".
   Getting some music paper and pen and ink which he placed on a small table in front of the piano, he seated himself at the instrument, assumed a very serious, almost superhuman look, whistled a little; then played what he had whistled and then wrote down what he had played; whistled another phrase, played another phrase, wrote down another and kept on in this manner until he had filled two pages. These he gave to me as a souvenir of this visit. I asked him to dedicate the music to my wife rather than me, which he did. This piece called "Humoresque" is found in all editions of Grieg's collected works...

As Paul Corneilson has observed, since the piece had been written by Grieg in 1865, one must presume that his performance had been convincing enough to persuade Anderson that the work was actually being composed in his presence. But aside from its unusual genesis, the autograph is additionally remarkable on account of a number of features quite lacking in other sources for the work, namely some piano pedal markings (e.g. in bb.1-4, 9-10, 13-14, 20-30, 33, 35-36 and 37) and some dynamic markings (the collected edition lacks, for example, the hairpin decrescendo contained in b.3); the present autograph also includes several bars not found in the collected edition (bb.19, 38-40), one being inserted to created a delightful echo effect before the reprise of the insouciant opening theme.

The other surviving source material for the work includes an autograph score in the Oslo University Library (Norsk Musikksamling 1553/104).