Edvard Hagerup Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born 15 June 1843 in Bergen, Norway near the seaside.

His parents were Alexander and Gesina Hagerup Grieg. Gesina was a great pianist and took formal schooling in Hamburg, Germany. She also wrote poems and plays. Ole Bull Grieg was also very influential as well as his mother, in his education in the piano and learning. Ole Bull Grieg was a famous violinist and had founded the National Theatre in Bergen. Edvards mother and uncle had taken him to a concert a s a young child and he was introduced to Mendelsohn and Schumanns music. These two had a big impact upon his style and upon what he wanted to do. His mother and Ole Bull Grieg saw talent in this young boy and taught him what they could from home. Ole suggested that he go to school when age 15 so he could learn more about music and be great someday. He was sent to Leipzig and got homesick but also had a collapsed lung because he had contracted a form of Tuberculosis, which he had for the rest of his life. His mother had to go to Leipzig to get him and have him home so he could get better. Once he was better then, he was sent back to finish his schooling. This time he did complete his education. Edvard had made friends with Rikard Nordraak, who had recently returned from study in Berlin, Germany. Rikard was also a Norwegian composer and enthusiast around his own age. While he was attending school he had heard the music of Wagner fourteen times as well as Johannes Brahms. Ole told Edvard to create his own style and Edvard was determined to devote his life to Romantic nationalism. Edvards parents were models of respectability and took an active part in the Harmonien, Bergens musical society and orchestra, one of the oldest in the world. He first established himself in Bergen where he: taught, gave concerts, and performed his own compositions. While he was studying in Denmark, he was secretly married to his first cousin Nina Hagerup. A year later they had a daughter Alexandria Grieg who lived to be 15 months of age when she died. They did not have any other children. They both went back to performing together. Nina would sing the songs Edvard wrote. They really enjoyed living at Troldhaugen. There is a museum there that is named after Edvard Grieg. This Troldhaugen Museum is an art museum complex in Bergen, Norway. This couple enjoyed this area because of its beauty and many of his music was composed and written while here.

Among the composers he knew were: Niels Gade, Bjornst Bjornson, Franz Liszt, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. He also heard the music of Mendelsohn and Schumann. The reason for this list of composers is because he had friendships with many of them. The influence of these composers made him a great musician. Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky had a good relationship and friendship with Grieg as well as them hanging out and drinking regularly. He could give a good description of Edvard and his wife Nina. More particularly Edvard. They were unusually small and when they performed together, it was said they looked like goblins. Edvard Grieg was five feet tall, had fair hair and almost boyish beard and mustache. Sky blue eyes were irresistibly charming and reminded me of the gaze of an innocent child. Greigs music is often nationalist and so It is sometimes suggested that you only have to hear a bar of a work by Grieg to know you are in Norway. (R Laughton, Grieg London: Omnibus Press 1998 p.8). Because of Griegs love of his country Norway and his love of folk music, collaborating with other Norwegian composers, he was unmistakably nationalist in spirit. (Burrows). His music sounds a lot like Norway because Grieg looked for inspiration in Norway. He used the spectacularly grand and beautiful Hardanger Fjord in Bergen for his inspiration. Scenery seemed to be inspirational to him. (J Horton, op, cit. p 118). Grieg is undoubtedly Norways greatest composer and is responsible, together with Sibelius and Nielsen, for putting Scandinavia on the musical map. (Burrows) His most famous music accomplishments are: Peer Gynt 1 & 2 written as incidental music for a play by Ibsen, and Piano Concerto A. He had written books of music and each opus is in a different book. Some other Op. are assigned to each song and sometimes they were assigned a number starting with EG (Edvard Grieg).

Composition Type: Piano Work: Lyric Pieces (8), Book 1, Op. 12

ABOUT THIS WORK

As a miniaturist, Grieg was a master. These attractive gems reveal a strong national flavor, also known as salon pieces with elements of Norwegian folk music. Movements 1. Arietta 2. "Waltz," characterized by a recurring staccato passage. The waltz is more like a square dance with bowing and curtsying each other. It is however done fast. 3 beats in a measure. Each beat has a certain movement to it. 3. "The Watchman's Song, 4. "Fairy Dance" 5. "Folk Tune"; 6. "Norwegian Melody," 7. "Album Leaf;"

8. "National Song." Sounds like it is played on the organ and the pedals are very deep in nature. http://www.arkimusic.com/classical Waltz- Lyric Pieces Op. 12 1:41 Written in 1867 in A minor www.pianostreet.com 2nd movement of 8 movements of Op 12 0:00 Left hand staccato playing and keeping tempo which is 6/4 or 6/8 time. This is played repeatedly for a while. 0:03 Right hand comes in with the melody. There is a brightness in the notes and some fast runs or fast notes. 0:33 repeat of first section except that the notes are going up and down in the scales. They are very powerful or emphasized more. 0:48 this is a different section of the song which is more loving and romantic in tone. It seems like love is just beginning to blossom. Left-hand has the melody while the right hand plays the triads. 1:18 this again is the same as at the beginning where the left hand does its staccato part and the right hand plays the melody. However you can tell by the slowing down of the music that this is coming to an end. It ends with a deep bass note.

National Song- Lyric Pieces Op. 12 1:00 Written 1867 in E flat Major. www.pianostreet.com Final movement of Op 12. 0:00 Introduction to the song. First four notes are quarter notes and the tempo is 4/4. The first four notes are played in the bass clef. 0:03 Very patriotic in sound and the notes make it seem very upbeat. They play four quarter notes going up in scale. Now they are in the Treble clef. 0:12 This seems to be the verse section now. The right hand has the melody while the left hand has the harmony. Left hand plays soft then gets loud deep. 0:29 Seems to be the verse is being repeated as above. The same marking or tones are there. Right hand is melody and left is harmony and still sounds deep.

0:42 The sound seems to be very solemn in sound and very patriotic. As the song ends it starts getting slower and more solemn and you know it is coming to an end. When it ends it ends with a very deep note in the Bass Clef.

Composition Type: Piano Work: Lyric Pieces (6), Book 3, Op. 43

ABOUT THIS WORK

He first assigned titles in 1867, in a suite he called "Lyric Pieces." This came to be Book 1 of ten sets. Each was a great success and this pleased his publisher. Movements 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Butterfly---Written while in Denmark Solitary Traveler In My Native Country Little Bird Erotika To Spring---Written in Norway

All six pieces or movements comprise a set of "spring songs." http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical Butterfly- Lyric Pieces Op. 43 1:43 First movement of his Spring Song series written 1886. This was written while Edvard Grieg was in Denmark. Was written in A Major www.pianostreet.com 0:00 Introduction to first movement. It start out with arpeggios going up and inside the arpeggios you hear the melody with the right hand. Left hand is the harmony and sometimes you hear the notes go down low. 0:40 It sound like the arpeggios are getting very loud and stronger as they go up scales. You now will hear the left hand playing the melody while the right hand sounds like the butterflies are taking flight and going up higher. 1:07 Here you will hear the arpeggios going down in scale and then back up again. You hear very distinct notes in the left hand. 1:37 Sounds like the lower treble clef notes are the slow movement of this piece and the upper treble clef sound like the butterflies are getting to land because of the softness and slowness of the music. At the end of the song the music slows and softens so much that it seems to be that the butterflies have landed now.

To the Spring- Lyric Pieces Op. 43 3:13

Final movement of his Spring Song series written 1886. This is the organizing of the whole set of Spring Songs. http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical Written 1886 in F-Sharp Major www.pianostreet.com 0:00 Beginning the movement played in 6/8 or 6/4 time.

0:18 Right hand plays chords in the upper treble clef while the left hand plays in the lowers treble clef. The upper treble clef has the harmony while the lower treble clef has the melody. 0:33 The softness of the music in both hands seems to be spring quietly coming forth just after winter has gone. 1:31 The notes gets faster in both hands especially in the melody. The dynamics are greater as well. This seems to tell me by the music that spring is coming and arriving pretty well. 2:01 The upper notes are now the melody while the lower notes are now the harmony. To this point, the lower treble clef has been the melody now that has changed. The lightness of the upper notes would make me think the sun is out and helping thing to grow. 3:01 As you listen to the music you will hear both hands coming down in scale and yet keep the melody and harmony with a few fast notes added in. Then it starts to slow down. 3:10 As the song is coming to a close you hear the darkening of the tones in both hands. I believe this is to mean that spring has fully come and is here in full bloom. Nordic Melody Op. 63 4:34 Norwegian Melodies for Spring. Written for String Orchestra in 1895. There are two songs written or movements. 1) In folk Song 2) Cattle Call and Peasant Dance. This song was written for a string Orchestra. The only instruments you will hear in both movements will be violin, viola, cello, and contrabass. http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/ This Nordic melody contains both movements listed above. 0:00 This is the first movement of this melody In Folk Song. In this intro you will hear each of the instruments as they become the subject then counter subjects. The violin comes in first, then the viola, then the cello and then the contrabass. The contrabass is the ending subject while the others are the counter subjects. 0:35 The violins and viola play the melody while the cello and contrabass play the harmony. This is the motif or theme of the song.

1:07 All the instruments are playing the motif and the same sequence as before except they are all increasing in volume. You will hear the Pizzicato of the cello and contrabass. 1:37 You hear all the instruments playing and they seem to be slowing down in sequence yet they are getting louder then they decrescendo to ppp at the end of the movement. 2:00 Beginning the second movement of this melody Cattle Call and Peasant Dance. Here you hear each instrument come in separately while they each get to play or make their statement. This is repeated three times. 2:33 Now we hear each instrument coming in reverse order as above being repeated as well. They each get to make their statements as above. 2:40 Now you hear the motif of the theme of the cattle call. This is now getting very lively and you hear pizzicato of both the cello and contrabass. 3:03 Now you will hear the peasant dancing coming in while the cattle call is still playing. You will hear the melody of the violins and violas while the harmony is still done by the cello and contrabass. You will hear that it continues in sequence. 3:24 Now you hear music that sounds like the peasants are dancing more however you still hear the cattle call. It seems to be more lively and about what we would call a folk dance or square dance rhythm. 3:34 The sequence as above is being repeated. It is livelier now as the violins and violas are getting faster and going down the scales. The cellos and contrabass are Pizzicato and also going down the scales in melody and harmony. 3:57 All the instruments are playing the very beginning of this movement again as at the first. This is bringing the piece to a complete melody. 4:20 The tempo slows down at the end of the song. The instruments are going up the scales in rhythm and tone as the violin and viola end up with the high notes. Then the music seems to slow down and is very precise for all string instruments. You get to hear each instrument very precisely and the very distinct tones as this son comes to a complete end. Bibliography Burkholder, J Peter, Donald J Grant, Claude V Palisca, History of Western Music 7th edition, W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. Book. pgs. 745-747 Steen, Michael, The Lives and Times of the Great Composer, Oxford Univeristy Press, 2004, Book. Pgs., 382, 448, 545, 689, 691-692, 710-711, 725-735

Burrows, John, Charles Wiffen, eds. The Complete Classical Music Guide, New York, DK Publishing, 2012. Book. General Editor John Burrows with Charles Wiffen Pgs. 211

http://digitalarkivte.arkivverket.no/ft/persons Folktelling 1865 for 1301 Bergen kjopstad (Census 1865) Folktelling 1875 for 1301 Bergen kjopstad (Census 1875) Folktelling 1900 for 0218 Aker herred (Census 1900) http://digitalarkivet.arkivverket.no/kb/gr/person Ministerialbok 1867-1877 (1301M9) Sandviken Ministerialbok 1869-1882 (1308M8) Nykirken http://www.arkimusic.com/classical Gave me the history of the Opus books and what is contain in them. They are in order of movements. www.pianostreet.com/grieg-sheet-music/lyric-pieces/ This was compiled by Dan Fog and the Edvard Grieg Committee They gave the name of the Song, Op. or EG number, Years written, What Major or minor scale it was written in. Also wrote which instruments it was written for such as Piano or Orchestral Strings.