A superb miniaturist, Grieg rarely turned his hand to large-scale musical structures. But here he brilliantly used the variation form, which is essentially a way to take a short musical example and create a large composition from a series of short pieces based on it. In this case, 24-minute work is generated from a tune found in L.M. Lindeman's fine collection of Norwegian folk tunes. Grieg composed it originally for two pianos. Its form is traditional: The theme is stated, with Grieg's own harmonization. Then follows about twenty minutes of variations upon it, and a finale which brings it back in grander fashion. While all the individual variations are interesting, what the composition lacks is a convincing feeling of over-all direction: The best sets of theme and variation lead the listener onward from variation to variation with a feeling of inevitability, and it is this that the Old Norwegian Romance lacks. The author is rather fond of it despite this fault, for the melodies (both the original one and the ones spun from it) are delightful, but it is not considered top drawer Grieg.

© All Music Guide