Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) is, undoubtedly, Norway’s most famous composer. He was born in Bergen, but it’s interesting to note that his great-grandfather was a Scot who had settled in Norway after the battle of Culloden.
His most famous music – with the exception of the piano concerto – mainly consists of short pieces with descriptive titles, either known singly (as with some songs and piano pieces) or as part of larger collections (Peer Gynt incidental music; the Holberg Suite). But, trained as he was in the German tradition (Leipzig), he also produced, in addition to the ubiquitous piano concerto, amongst other similar works, three violin sonatas, a cello sonata and a string quartet.
You can listen to Norwegian sourced examples of both below: some of the well-known incidental music for Ibsen’s Peer Gynt (played by the Bergen Philharmonic), and his Cello Sonata in a, Op. 36 – a fine example of the Romantic sonata (Truls Mørk, cello; Håvard Gimse, piano).
Grieg: Cello Sonata in a
Allegro agitato00:07 Andante molto tranquillo09:48 Allegro molto e marcato16:16
Grieg/Ibsen:Peer Gynt Incidental music
00:05 Act 1, Prelude. At the Wedding 04:55 Act 4, Prelude. Morning Mood 09:14 Act 3, Prelude. The Death of Aase 14:07 Act 4 Scene 10, Solveig’s Song 19:43 Act 4 Scene 6, Anitra’s Dance 23:07 Act 5 Scene 10, Solveig’s Cradle Song 27:20 Act 2 Scene 6, In the Hall of the Mountain King
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