Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) is Norway's most famous composer, and he remains among the most popular of all the 19th-Century Romantics. A virtuoso pianist, Grieg is perhaps best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16 (1868), as well as for the incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt, Op. 23 (1876). But Grieg was also a master of more intimate forms, and his originality is especially evident in his songs, many of which were composed for his wife, Nina Hagerup Grieg (1845-1935), and in the Lyriske stykker ("Lyric Pieces," 1867-1901) for piano solo, which earned him the nickname "Chopin of the North."
Sonata No. 2 in G major, Op. 13
Grieg's personal favorites among his works included his three sonatas for violin and piano. As expressed in a letter written in 1900, he said they helped map his journey as a composer:
Last week I had the pleasure of performing my three violin sonatas with Lady Neruda-Hallé before a very discerning Danish audience and receiving a very warm response. I can assure you that we did very well and it had special significance for me, because these three works are among my very best and represent different stages in my development: the first, naïve and rich in ideas; the second, nationalistic; and the third with a wider outlook.
The "nationalistic" Sonata No. 2 in G major, Op. 13 (1867), incorporates elements derived from Norwegian folk music, including rhythms of the leaping springdans used in the outer movements. The Sonata was written during the three weeks while Grieg was on his summer honeymoon, which perhaps explains its unbridled optimism. However, the work does have some relatively gloomy flashes as well, because, as Norwegian composer Johan Svendsen (1840-1911) observed when discussing this piece by his famous friend, "a Norway without tragedy is not a complete Norway."
Lyriske stykker
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) was a Norwegian composer and virtuoso pianist best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor and the incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt. But it was the originality of his Lyriske stykker ("Lyric Pieces") for piano solo that lead some to call him "The Chopin of the North." These 66 short works were composed between 1864 and 1901 and published in 10 separate volumes.
Among them, Wedding Day at Troldhaugen (1896) is one of the most famous. The titular “Troldaugen” (literally, “Troll’s Hill”) is the name of Grieg’s house in Bergen, and the piece is said to be a recollection of the composer’s 25th wedding anniversary celebration held there in 1892.
Another favorite Lyric Piece is the hauntingly beautiful and evocative Notturno, published in 1891, which, in addition to capturing the essence of a moonlit evening, provides an effective study in two-against-three cross rhythms.
--Music @ Main, February 10, 2009 (Mu Phi Epsilon Student Recital)
Grieg’s 170 songs likewise demonstrate his originality, and Grieg wrote that he considered song writing central to his work as composer. His wife, Nina, was a talented singer, and Grieg credited her as the primary inspiration for his songs. The majority of them are in Norwegian, which perhaps explains why they are not better known here in the United State. Of Grieg's settings of German poetry, the 6 Lieder, Op.48 (1884-88, pub. 1889), are regarded as among the very finest. The were dedicated to the Swedish dramatic soprano Ellen Norgren, who became internationally famous under her married name, Ellen Gulbranson, and who also eventually became a Norwegian citizen.
Sechs Lieder, Op. 48
(Click the titles for the original German texts plus English translations by Edward Lein)
4. Die verschwiegene Nachtigall
Intermezzo Sunday Concert, April 17, 2011 (Krzysztof Biernacki)
Grieg's Holberg Suite, Op. 40 (1884) , or, Fra Holbergs tid ("From Holberg's Time"), was originally a "Suite in Olden Style" for piano solo, but it has become more popular in the composer's own version for string orchestra. The five movements were composed to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of Danish-Norwegian playwright Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754).
-- Music @ Main, November 16, 2009 (Jacksonville University Chamber Strings)