Ode to Geirr Tveitt

Any of you heard of the Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt? Nah, I thought not. Neither had I, before this spring, when my piano teacher announced that it is 100 years since he was born, and that she wanted to start a little project with her most advanced students. We’ve been preparing a concert program consisting of Tveitt’s music and some of his influences from the impressionistic period. We’ve held a series of small concerts, the whole thing building up to a trip to Hardanger (fjord country – one of the most beatiful areas in Norway), to visit the Tveitt family and to play a concert in his home.

So on the morning of May 31st, Mommy, Daddy and I drove up towards Hardanger. It was a warm, sunny day and Hardanger presented itself from its most idyllic side. We arrived in the town Norheimsund (the Tveitt farm is just outside Norheimsund) in the afternoon, and drove up to Tveitt to meet Haoko, Geirr’s son, and to test the piano. To get to Tveitt you have to drive up a steep, narrow hill, and from the house you have an amazing view over the fjords, mountains and two glaciers. The piano – the very same one Geirr had been composing on! – was in the living room, surrounded by full-height windows with an amazing view.

The day of the concert was brilliantly sunny and 25 degrees warm. The living room filled up, there was probably around 60 people watching. I got the feeling that they were all Geirr Tveitt-experts, so I was very nervous before performing. However, as soon as I started playing, everything was wonderful. It might sound strange, but the piano was almost playing for me. It felt so special to be playing Geirr Tveit’s music on his very own piano. The expression in the music came out so clearly, it came so naturally to me and I easily managed to make it sound precisely like I had always wanted, but never quite managed, at home. If I needed some inspiration, I would look out the window for a brief second. A few more technical errors than usual couldn’t have bothered me less. I think I can safely say that it’s the best I’ve ever played, and it’s certainly my biggest experience so far as a pianist. I played two pieces – one piece from Geirr Tveitt’s “Fifty folk tunes from Hardanger”, Welcome with Honor, and one piece by Maurice Ravel (the guy who wrote Bolero), Pavane.

The rest of the concert went smoothly, all the students played very well. Afterwards, a professional pianist, who was from the area, played a small set of Geirr Tveitt music. Haoko, Geirr’s son, said that the pianist was probably one of the best Geirr Tveitt-interpreters in the world. I won’t argue with him. Sitting two meters from him, I could study his every move as he literally jumped back and forth (Geirr Tveitt’s music is very violent often), and I was blown by his last piece, Meinvarnadur, thinking that my goal as a pianist would be to be able to perform that piece the way he did. Well, for my first piano lesson after the trip, my teacher brought me Meinvarnadur! Kind of excited that I would get to play an epic-feeling piece like that, I’ve been practicing it a lot, and there’s a good chance I’ll be able to play part of it when I get to America this summer.

Sunday night there was a documentary about Geirr Tveitt’s life on television. In 1970, his house burned down along with over 80% of his music. Geirr Tveitt was one of the greatest personalities Norway has ever seen – not only was he a brilliant composer, able to mix influences from the old Norse times with folk tunes from Norway and impressionistic music from Paris, he was a truly special person. I’m really happy that I discovered his music, and I feel honored that I have performed in his home, on his piano, and done his music justice.

Thomas