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Royalty Free Music > Public Domain Music > Composers > Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907)
Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg wrote a great deal of music during the romantic period. Best remembered for his Piano Concerto in A minor and the music he created as part of legendary playwright Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt, he also composed a great deal of lyrical piano music.
Born in Bergen, Norway on June 15, 1843, Grieg was of Scottish descent, and his original family name was "Greig." In 1746, his great-grandfather traveled extensively and settled in Norway in approximately 1770 to become a businessman in Bergen. Grieg's mother was his first piano teacher and introduced him to music very early in life.
During the summer of 1858, Grieg met the violinist Ole Bull, a family friend and his mother's brother-in-law. Bull recognized Grieg's outstanding talent for music and convinced his parents to send him to the prestigious Leipzig Conservatory, at that time run by music legend Ignaz Moscheles.
Grieg shortly went to the conservatory and focused on piano, attending every concert he could in Leipzig. He despised the structured academic life at the conservatory, yet managed to do very well in all subjects, except for in organ. In the spring of 1860, Grieg contracted a serious lung illness and almost died, but recovered and went on to give his first piano concert in 1861 in Karshamn, Sweden. The pianist completed his education at Leipzig in 1862 and returned to Bergen to give his first professional concert that included challenging and expressive pieces of piano music such as Beethoven's "Pathetique" sonata.
After spending approximately a year in Bergen, Grieg traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he remained for three years. He traveled in circles with notable composers J.P.E. Harman and Niels Gade and became very close friends with Rkard Nordraak, composer of the Norwegian national anthem. Although Nordraak died shortly after they met, Grieg was inspired by his work throughout his life and composed a funeral march to honor him. Even while in Copenhagen, Grieg maintained close contact with his hometown orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic and even acted as musical director between the year of 1880 and the year of 1882.
Two years after marrying his cousin, Nina Hagerup in 1869, Grieg wrote one of his most important works for piano, the "Piano Concerto op. 16," while vacationing in Denmark. The concerto premiered on April 3, 1869 in Copenhagen, though Grieg was unable to be there because he had a conducting job in Christiania, now Oslo.
In 1868, Franz Liszt, who had not yet met Grieg, wrote an article supporting him to the Norwegian Ministry of Education, and the Ministry granted him travel money to tour Europe. Grieg and Liszt finally met in Rome in 1870, and they reviewed Grieg's First Violin sonata together, an event that highly influenced Liszt. The second time the two composers met, Grieg brought Lizst his Piano Concerto, and Liszt played all of it, including the orchestral parts on sight.
The following summer, Grieg's only daughter caught ill and died, an occurrence that put a damper on his composing and playing for several years. In 1876, he returned to create his most famous work, the incidental music for Ibsen's famous play Peer Gynt. Pieces from this play have become popular as orchestral suites and piano and piano-duet arrangements.
During latter part of his life, Grieg was celebrated and known throughout the world, yet still not very wealthy. He lived on a government pension and continued to perform and compose until his death from a long illness on September 4, 1907 at age 64. Because of his popularity, the funeral brought thousands of people onto the streets to honor him.
Grieg's music is very nationalistic by nature, and he was most inspired by Norwegian folk songs. Works he created throughout his life were continually mindful of Norwegian tunes and folk dances, and his musical allegiance to his native country earned him the nickname "Chopin of the North."
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