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Edvard Grieg, Norwegian Miniaturist Biography and Music

Edvard Grieg is N~rw~y's most fa_mous composer. His music, inspired by Norwegian folk­tunes, has a charming directness which has worldwide appeal.

His beautiful miniatur~s ~ake up most of his output. Their simple, folk-like gracefulness and lac~ of gr~nd dramatic ideas are famous hallmarks of Grieg's style. I find Grieg's music rather lightweight, but I still love his talent for melody and imagery!

Grieg Biography

Edvard Grieg was born 1847 in Bergen, Norway, into a well-off and musical household. His mother gave him piano lessons at age 6, and he advanced quickly.

A family friend and famous violinist saw Grieg's talent and encouraged his family to send him to the Leipzig Conservatory. They sent the 15-year old Grieg there, where he hated the course and his teachers.

But! Grieg discovered Robert Schumann's music in Leipzig. He felt attracted to Schumann's direct style, and it inspired his early compositions.

At the age of 25 he went to Copenhagen, Denmark, with the aim of becoming a concert pianist.

Norwegian culture was under the shadow of Denmark around this tlmE;?. Maybe it was a deliberate backlash when Grieg began incorporating folk melodies from his homeland into his music, creating his first nationalist pieces.

In Copenhagen he met and married his first cousin, the singer Nina Hagerup. Their love influenced a lot of his more romantic songs. They stayed together until Grieg died, despite a temporary rift when Grieg suffered a personal and professional crises.

Edvard Grieg composed and taught music, with his reputation growing slowly.

In 1876 he wrote the incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play peer G_ynt. The music was a smashing success, and catapulted Grieg to fame.

By 1885 he was a famous and respected composer throughout Europe. The Norwegian government gave him an annual pension, and famous Universities showered him with honorary degrees.

Grieg's music had fans including Hungarian piano virtouso Franz Liszt (links to biography) and the Russian master composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Liszt even invited G~ieg to visit him in Rome, which the Norwegian did in 1870.

Grieg showed Liszt his first piano concerto, which Liszt played by sight all the way through. The other people watching were dazzled, but Grieg smiled gently and told l..iszt that he'd played it too fast!

Edvard and Nina settled in Troldhaugen. It was a beautiful villa Grieg built himself, surrounded by nature. He had a yearly routine, composing in the spring and Slimmer and touring Europe as a pianist during autumn and winter.

Grieg also befriended the eccentric Australian pianist­composer Percy Grainger. Both men admired each other's musical talents. Grieg thought that Grainger could play his Scandinavian music better than any Scandinavian.

Grainger called Grieg a "mini-Viking" because of the Norwegian's shortness (he was just over 5 feet tall). To me this description demonstrates Grieg's personality as much as Grainger's sense of humor!

Grieg's health declined at the start of the 20th century, but he kept on with his long concert tours.

He was never properly trained to deal with massive musical forms (like symphonies). He also had a lack of playing stamina and a lifelong breathing problem.

This combination made Grieg, as a person and as a composer, much more suited to miniature pieces. Accordingly, most of his music is small-scale and short.

He also composed mostly for piano, but his works for orchestra show he had a masterful control of clear orchestral color and warmth.

His music also inspired later more radical composers, like Ravel and Debussy. He was still able to blend in unique chords and interesting modern sounds into his delightfully simple pieces.

Edvard Grieg died in 1907. His own funeral march, as well as Chooin:s, was played at his funeral. His ashes are buried in a mountain near Troldhaugen.

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Grieg's Music

Grie 's music is uniquely Norwegian. Not only did ~::~~dtraditi~nal melodies from his native countr~, he created ones in the same style and promoted Norwegian

~=~onalism and identity through his concert tours.

he traditions of his homeland so much that he was ~~el~~~~: main establishers of the entire style and flavor of Scandinavian music.

For me, Grieg music is wholesome, like a h7arty Scan~inavian b th Grieg let other composers create majestic, sublime ~o · fart the Norwegian was content enough to compose pieces o -

music that nourished the everyman.

H' traightforward music is nonetheless colorful, and effortlessly evokes the beautiful natural w~r~d of Norway, full of fjords, lakes, and forests ..

· · . M d you can almost smell and For example, listen to the opening of Grieg's famo~s Morning oo -wiau11t~if'I aiF1

Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite Charming Norwegian Music

Grieg's Peer Gynt suite is a selection of charming tunes from the composer's incidental music to a famous play. Explore the history and music here ...

Originally Grieg wrote a collection of 33 pieces as incidental music to renowned playwright Henrik Ibsen's new drama Peer Gynt.

The play is full of high drama, adventure, tragedy, and comedy all mashed into one. Grieg's characteristically clean music perfectly fits the strong Norwegian feel and ideas of the play, and breathes life into the moods and episodes.

Peer Gynt is the hero. He's the typical Norwegian scoundrel: lazy, indulgent, and impetuous, who dreams of being the ruler of the world. The play charts his entire life of dreams, travels, and crimes.

Henrik Ibsen met Grieg in Italy in 1866. They connected quickly, sharing ideas and opinions about art and drama. Ibsen was impressed by Grieg's musical talents.

So naturally when Ibsen was casting around for a composer for his new play Peer Gynt, his gaze settled on Grieg.

Grieg started the commission, all fired up. But it took him longer to complete than he thought it would, and its complexity burned away some of his enthusiasm.

But, with patience and persistence, the task was eventually finished. Peer Gynt had its premiere in Oslo in February 1876.

Grieg's music for the play was a super-success, and stamped him with fame across Europe and the rest of the world.

The incidental music was first published as a piano duet. It wasn't until a~er Grieg died that the entire orchestral score was published. But during Grieg's lifetime audiences could enjoy two delightful suites hand-picked by the composer himself ...

The first suite appeared in 1880, and the second in 1891.

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Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46

1. Morning Mood: The opening of the first suite captures the beginning of the day in the glorious mountains and forests of Norway. Birds sing, the sun rises, and everything is fresh and lovely.

2. Aase's Death: An elegy depicting Peer Gynt's mother Aase dying alone on a mountain. This haunting, stark piece shows Grieg's masterful grasp of simplicity and power.

3. Anitra's Dance: A seductive dance evoking the gracefulness of Anitra, a chieftain's daughter whom Peer Gynt is infatuated with.

N o -r w <>-:j 4. In the Hall of the Mountain King: A hugely famous and popular piece, this is perhaps

Grieg's most well known tune. A frantic piece depicting the bizarre dances of gnomes, and their chase of Peer Gynt. The melody repeats over and over again, each time growing faster and more savage.

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-- • ·t;!f ... · · · · 8, c·· • . l ~44$C'4iWEIU:~~--~.ufd:1t-t:J 1. This is the main melody of Anitras Dance 2. The meter is in 3/4 (a quarter note ) (ta) =1 count - there are 3 counts in each

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3. The key is a minor. . I>~\.,,, .-r ( ~l ~' { ( ) 4. There are staccato notes 1n the music (small dot above some of the notes -you

perform the notes in a very short,quick manner) 5. A trill~ is a musical ornament in which 2 notes a alternated played very fast. 6. Grace notes are musical ornaments that are not counted in the rhwhm of the

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One of Peer Gynt's adventrues takes him to the desert. There he meets a very beautiul young Arabian Dancer - Anitra. Anitra h<1ppens to find out th<'tt Peer is rich and is carrying a lot of money with him. She decides she WANTS his money. She has a plan - she will invite Peer to watch her dance for him. She will offer him wine while she dances to make him sleepy. Sure enough, just as Anitra planned Peer falls into a deep sleep brought about by drinking too much wine.While Peer sleeps Anitra steals

his money. Then she runs off with his money never to be seen again. When Peer wakes, he discovers that his money is ALL gone!! He knew immediately that it was Anitra who took it -and now unfortunately after trying so hard to find her hoping to get his money back - he could not find her ANYWHERE!! So tired and worn out, Peer contin41es his journey wiht no money - having to beg for food to survive. He ~ever found Anitra.

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4 Written questions

1. Is the music major or minor. Anitra Dance is in the key of A minor.

2. Resume bowing/Play with the bow.

3. Pianissimo very soft or quiet.

4. How many beats are in each bar. There are three crotchet beats per bar.

3 Multiple choice questions

1. Ritardando which menas gradually getting slower.

a. Arco

b. Tempo

c. pp

d. Rit

2. Strings and percussion

a. Tonality

b. Time signature

c. Families in Anitras Dance

d. Con sordino

3. This is music that tells a story or creates an image in your mind.

a. Tempo

b. Tonality

c. Programme music

d. Rit

3 True/False questions

1. Pizzicato - Pluck with your fingers.

True False

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Music keywords in 'Anitras Dance'

Tonality

Tempo

Time signature

pp

Is the music major or minor. Anitra Dance is

in the key of A minor.

This means how fast or slow the music is.

Anitras dance is in the style of waltz.

How many beats are in each bar. There are three crotchet beats per bar.

Pianissimo very soft or quiet. -------------------- ---------

Arco

Pizzicato

Consordino

Families in Anitras Dance

Rit

Programme music

Resume bowing/Play with the bow. -------~

Pluck with your fingers.

Play with a mute. ·-- ----------

Strings and percussion

Ritardando which menas gradually getting

slower.

This is music that tells a story or creates an

image in your mind.