Edward Grieg (ED-vard GREEG)

Born June 15, 1843 in Bergen, Norway

Died September 4, 1907

Nationality: Norwegian

Style/Period:  Romantic

About the composer:

Edvard Grieg was one of Norway’s best and most famous composers.  He grew up in a musical family and took piano lessons from his mother. His parents’ friends would often stop by the house to play music together.  One day when a friend heard young Edvard play the piano, he was so impressed that he convinced Mr. & Mrs. Grieg to send their son to Germany to study at the famous Leipzig Conservatory.  He took piano lessons there, but also studied composition. Edvard loved Norway, especially the country folk and the landscape.  Much of his music is inspired by dances and events of farmers and townspeople, and by the beautiful Norwegian countryside.  Even though Edvard developed serious health problems as a young man, he kept on writing music because this is what he loved to do most.

About the music:

Grieg’s piano music is like musical pictures.  The titles are very descriptive, and as you listen you can really imagine the places and scenes he describes.

The ‘Lyric Pieces’ are simple little pieces for solo piano, written over his lifetime and not as a complete set.  Each one evokes a particular mood or thought.

‘Wedding Day at Troldhaugen’ sounds just like you might expect in wedding music.  It’s very festive and happy-sounding, like a celebration!

Suggested activities:

Draw or paint a picture of what you might find if you took a walk in the country.  Think of meadows, mountains, fields, streams, or other beautiful things you might see as you walk.

Find out what ‘lyric’ and ‘lyrical’ mean.

If you were going to write a short piece of music, what might you call it?  Think of a title and imagine how the music would sound.