Edvard Grieg
Norway's most famous composer, Edvard Grieg was one of the late Romantics whose music was infused with the folk tradition of his homeland. He dedicated his career to the pursuit of a national sound. The respect he had for his predecessors illustrates the sincerity with which he worked towards this goal. He wrote in the Romantic tradition with, in his own words, the determination to "create a national form of music, which could give the Norwegian people an identity." The clear mountain beauty of a Scandinavian landscape can be felt in the pure modal harmonies and sustained transparent textures combined with the warmth of a Schumannesque melodic sensibility. This is especially true of his hundreds of piano miniatures -- many based on folk dance rhythms -- and his songs.
Grieg was actually of Scottish descent on his father's side, but his family had fully assimilated into Norwegian culture. As a youth Grieg studied the folk tunes of his native country. He left his home in Bergen to study at the conservatory in Leipzig. There he began his formal musical education under the auspices of Ignaz Moscheles (piano) and Carl Reinecke (composition). Despite being diagnosed with a form of tuberculosis, which left him with only one functioning lung, Grieg graduated from the conservatory in 1862. The composer had an intense desire to develop a national style of composition, but recognized the importance of becoming well versed in the work of the European masters, and consequently relocated to Copenhagen, studying with Niels Gade. He was thus able to remain in Scandinavia, while working in a thriving cultural center.
In 1867 against his family's better judgment, Grieg married his cousin Nina Hagerup, a talented pianist, but whose vocal abilities enchanted the composer even more. She inspired many of his 170 songs. Shortly after their wedding, the couple moved to Oslo, where Grieg supported them by teaching piano and conducting. He and his wife traveled extensively throughout Europe and it was during a period of time spent in Denmark, the composer wrote his landmark opus, the Piano Concerto in A minor. The premiere was given in 1869, with Edmund Neupert as the soloist and was received with an enthusiasm that would attach itself to the composer's reputation for the remainder of his career. It rivals Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in its drama, virtuosity, and popularity.
Grieg admired his literary contemporaries and forged a productive partnership with Björnstjerne Björnson, playwright and poet, with whom he staged performances of such works as Before a Southern Convent, and Bergliot. While Björnson struggled with his output, Grieg met and befriended Henrik Ibsen. The forthcoming collaboration would prove significant for both, as Grieg would supply incidental music to Ibsen's Peer Gynt for an early 1876 production. The premiere was performed to critical acclaim, although the music was not exactly what Ibsen had hoped, and eventually led to Grieg's scoring of Peer Gynt into the popular Suites 1 and 2 (1888 and 1893 respectively) for full orchestra. As a result, Grieg enjoyed tremendous celebrity and continued to travel extensively, often meeting internationally renowned composers such as Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and Liszt, among others. In addition to a grant he was awarded in 1874, Grieg was able to earn the majority of his money by adhering to a vigorous schedule of recital tours and conducting engagements. He served briefly as the music director of the Bergen Symphony Orchestra, and from 1880-1882, held the same position at the Bergen Harmonien. Another popular suite, From Holberg's Time -- for piano or for orchestra -- was composed in 1884 and pays homage to the music of Baroque era.
In 1885, Grieg and his wife relocated once again, this time back to Bergen, where he built their celebrated home, Troldhaugen. The property, a popular tourist destination to this day, features a secondary building overlooking the water, which the composer used as his work area, as he could only work in solitude. Grieg and his wife summered in Norway and departed each fall for European tours that would last the remainder of the year. He was adored wherever he traveled and lived at a pace that would eventually catch up with him. Grieg died of chronic fatigue, with much credit given to his lifelong health problems, in his hometown in 1907.
© David Brensilver /TiVo
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Edvard Grieg: Complete String Quartets
Chamber Music - Released by JSC Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg - Symphonic Dances
Edvard Grieg, Vienna Pro Musica Orchestra, E. Wagner
Classical - Released by Denon on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 13 - Smetana: From My Homeland - Janáček: Sonata for Violin & Piano - Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56 - Bloch: Abodah A Yom Kippur Melody God's Worship - Perry: The Nightingale in the Park
Classical - Released by VDE-GALLO on 4 Dec 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Peer Gynt
Classical - Released by Past Classics on 31 Jul 2012
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Peer Gynt Suite N1 Y N2
Orquesta Sinfonica De Radio Hamburgo
Symphonic Music - Released by Music Hit Factory on 1 Dec 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Sonatas for Violin and Piano No. 1 & 3
Grigory Ginsburg, Leonid Kogan
Classical - Released by Music Online on 29 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg Autumn Study Vibes
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 24 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Spring Classical
Classical - Released by Classic Records on 26 Apr 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
50 Must-Have Travel Classics
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on 26 Feb 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Sonatas For Violin & Piano
Curtis Macomber, Marija Stroke
Classical - Released by Arabesque Recordings on 3 Sep 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
Classical - Released by Classical Meditations on 18 May 2020
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Morning Mood , Morgenstimmung (feat. Michael Tuce)
Classical - Released by Blue Arts on 18 Mar 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roberto Bravo de Colección, Vol. 8
Classical - Released by JCM on 26 Jan 2014
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Orchestre de Chambre de Fribourg: Grieg - Gerber - Sibelius - Tchaïkovsy - Bollschweiler
Emmanuel Siffert, Orchestre de Chambre de Fribourg
Classical - Released by VDE-GALLO on 16 Feb 2010
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Ballade in g minor Op. 24 (Edvard Grieg, Classic Piano)
Classical - Released by Ars Classica on 11 Aug 2023
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Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.16
Classical - Released by The Digital Gramophone on 6 Mar 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Music for the Reader 7: Great Masterpieces for the Dedicated Reader
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on 4 Sep 2012
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Peer Gynt, Suite 1st part, Op. 46 Part 5 (Grieg, Piano Classic, Recorded with Quantec)
Classical - Released by Ars Classica on 31 Jul 2023
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Invitation à la Danse
Dana Ciocarlie, Christiane Baume-Sanglard
Classical - Released by Claves Records on 18 May 2015
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sonata per violino n∞3 in Do minore, Op.45: 2.Allegretto espressivo alla romanza (Edvard Grieg, Classic Piano and Violine)
Classical - Released by Ars Classica on 11 Nov 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Edvard Grieg - Peer gynt Suites 1 y 2
Classical - Released by Piros - Artyvoz on 1 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo