The composer of which country is edvard grieg. Short biography of grieg edward

The peculiarities of the mentality are preserved in the works of art, the culture of the people is reflected, the representative of which acts as the author of the masterpiece. The same applies to the art of music. The composer's work is influenced by the geography of the area, the climate, the life and everyday life of people, folk melodies, legends, and traditions. What he saw and heard is passed through the soul of a genius, and the world receives new symphonies, cantatas, plays, and other immortal creations.

Scandinavian music also has distinctive features. Composers of northern Europe, having studied the world musical heritage, have created a unique rhythmic beat. One of the most famous Scandinavian composers is Edvard Grieg. Biography, a summary of the life and work of the genius are presented in this article.

Childhood

The future composer was born on June 15, 1943 in the provincial Norwegian town of Bergen. The boy's father, Alexander Grieg, worked at the British consulate, and his mother, Gesina Grieg (Hagerup), played the piano.

Little Edward studied music from the age of six. The first teacher was my mother. The child showed musical abilities, but there was no talk of serious music lessons yet.

Once a family friend came to the Griegs - the famous violinist and composer Olle Bull at that time. Hearing Edward playing music, Bull advised his parents to send the guy to the Leipzig Conservatory. The musician already then understood what fame Edvard Grieg would acquire: a biography (a summary of which is presented in this article), as well as the works created by him, will become the property of the whole world years later.

Student body

The years of study brought not only joy, but also disappointment. Grieg took lessons from prominent music teachers Ernst Wentzel and Ignaz Moscheles. The musicians gladly revealed the secrets of their skills to their students, but the requirements for young talents were also high.

Like other students, Grieg rehearsed from morning to evening, stopping only to eat. The loads turned out to be unbearable, and in 1860 the young man fell seriously ill. Due to illness, classes had to be interrupted and returned to their relatives. biography (summary) which will later be studied in music schools, would not have taken place as a composer, if not for the help of loved ones.

The fight against the disease turned out to be not easy, but thanks to careful care, the young man got to his feet. The parents wanted their son to stay at home, but the guy returned to Leipzig and continued his studies.

Upon completion of his studies, Edward received a diploma in pianist and composer. To the attention of the public and the teaching staff, the graduate offered miniatures of his own composition, which were highly appreciated by both professionals and music lovers.

Musical Society

After graduating from the Conservatory, Edvard Grieg returned to his homeland. The young composer and pianist was interested in and he fired up the idea of ​​creating original music of Scandinavia.

With a group of like-minded people, Edward organizes a musical society, whose members write, perform and promote their works. During this period, Grieg composed a piano sonata, a sonata for violin and piano, romances, an overture "Autumn" and "Humoresques".

The composer's talent is highly appreciated by his contemporaries. After some time, Edvard Grieg, whose biography (summary) includes personal relationships, becomes a family man. Beloved wife Nina Hagerup takes part in concerts, performs her husband's romances.

Biography of Edvard Grieg (summary) would be incomplete without a description of the composer's educational activities. Having moved to Oslo, Grieg set about creating a musical educational institution in Norway, the Musical Society. The composer is supported by writers and other representatives of the intelligentsia. As a result of cooperation with B. Bjornson, musical dramas based on the Scandinavian epic "Edda" appeared. Also during this period, a piano concerto and lyric pieces were written.

World renown

Soon Edvard Grieg became famous outside of Scandinavia. F. List played an important role in this. The state provided Grieg with a lifetime scholarship, which allowed the composer to return to his hometown and devote himself to creativity.

Edward travels a lot, studies the life of Norwegian peasants, enjoys the beauty of nature. The impressions received are reflected in one of the most famous works - the "Peer Gynt" suite.

The peak of Edvard Grieg's fame was the 80s and 90s of the century before last. He is invited to perform in Denmark, Germany, Holland, England and other European countries. In 1889, Grieg became a member of the French Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1893 - an honorary doctor of the University of Cambridge.

At home, the composer is engaged in social activities: he organizes a festival of Norwegian music (held today), is interested in the work of concert and choral societies, writes essays and articles about the work of colleagues, publishes collections of folk songs and dances. Such was Edvard Grieg. A short biography of the composer is known not only to musicians, and the works created by Grieg have replenished the fund of classical music.

During his lifetime, the composer was friends with P.I. Tchaikovsky, dreamed of going to Russia, giving concerts in England, but illness interrupted his creative plans. The composer died on September 4, 1907. Later, a memorial house-museum was opened at the Villa Trollhaugen, where the last years of the genius passed.

In the history of the musical cultures of the peoples of the north of Europe - Denmark, Norway, Sweden - there are common features due to their common economic and socio - political development.

In particular, they are characterized by the later, in comparison with European countries, the formation of composing schools. In the second half of the 19th century, among these schools, the Norwegian was especially advanced. It was headed by Edvard Grieg, a composer of world importance, who influenced the work of not only Scandinavian authors, but all European music in general.

Norway at this time was going through a difficult period of development. Weaker economically, it was subordinate to either Denmark (16th - 19th centuries), then Sweden (19th century). It was only in 1905 that Norway finally freed itself from political dictatorship.

Norwegian culture in general, and musical culture in particular, experienced a significant flowering during this time. For example - Ludwig Matthias Linnemann, starting from the 50th year, has been doing a great job of collecting musical folklore, the famous violinist Ole Bull, nicknamed "the northern Paganini", as Grieg put it, was "the first to emphasize the importance of Norwegian folk songs for national music" , Halfdan Kjerulf is nominated as the author of numerous romances, the activity of the gifted, unfortunately, early deceased Ricard Nurdrok is distinguished by patriotism - he is the author of the music of the national anthem of Norway.

Grieg, however, stands out sharply from his predecessors and contemporaries. Like Glinka in Russia or Smetana in the Czech Republic, he embodied the folk flavor in his music with extraordinary clarity. "I drew, - he said, - rich treasures in the folk tunes of my homeland and from this treasure I tried to make national art". Having created such art, Grieg became the founder of the Norwegian musical classics, and his creations became the property of the world artistic culture.

Edward Hagerup Grieg

Edward Hagerup Grieg was born in June 1843. His ancestors were Scots (by the name of Greig - famous Russian admirals S.K. and A.S. Greigy - also belonged to this family). The family was musical. Mother, a good pianist, taught the children music herself.

Bergen, where Grieg was born, was famous for its national traditions, especially in the field of theater; Henryk Ibsen and Björnstierne Björsnon began their activities here; here Ole Bull was born, it was he who first drew attention to the gifted boy (Grieg is already composing at the age of 12), and advises his parents to send him to the Leipzig Conservatory.

Grieg later recalled without pleasure the years of conservative education - the conservatism of his teachers, their isolation from life. However, his stay there gave him a lot: the level of musical life was quite high, and outside the conservatory, Grieg became familiar with the music of modern composers, especially Schumann and Chopin fell in love with him.

Grieg's creative research was warmly supported by Ole Bull - during his joint travels in Norway, he devoted his young friend to the secrets of folk art. And soon the individual features of Grieg's style were clearly manifested. No wonder they say - if you want to join the folklore of Norway - listen to Grieg.

More and more he improved his talent in Christiania (now Oslo). Here he writes a huge number of his most famous works. It was here that his famous Second Violin Sonata, one of his favorite works, was born. But Grieg's work and his life in Christiania were full of struggle for the recognition of the folk color of Norwegian art in music, he had many enemies, opponents of such innovations in music. Therefore, he especially remembered the friendly power that Liszt had shown him. By that time, having taken the dignity of abbot, List lived in Rome and did not personally know Grieg. But, having heard the first violin sonata, I was delighted with the freshness and extraordinary color of the music, and sent an enthusiastic letter to the author. He told him: "Keep up the good work ... .. - and do not let yourself be intimidated! ..." This letter played a big role in the biography of Grieg: the moral support of Liszt strengthened the national principle in Edward's musical work.

And soon Grieg leaves Christiania and settles in his native Bergen. The next, last, long period of his life begins, marked by great creative successes, public recognition at home and abroad.

This period of his life opens with the creation of music for Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt". It was this music that made the name of Grieg famous in Europe. All his life, Grieg dreamed of creating a national opera, which would use the images of folk historical legends and the heroic of the sagas. In this he was helped by communication with Bjurston, with his work (by the way, many works by Grieg were written on his texts).

Grieg's music is gaining great popularity, penetrating the concert stage and home life. The feeling of deep sympathy evokes the appearance of Edvard Grieg as a person and an artist. Responsive and gentle in dealing with people, in his work he was distinguished by honesty and integrity. The interests of his native people were above all for him. That is why Grieg emerged as one of the greatest realistic painters of his time. In recognition of his artistic merit, Grieg was elected a member of a number of academies in Sweden, Holland and other countries.

Over time, Grieg increasingly eschewed the noisy metropolitan life. In connection with his touring tours, he has to visit Berlin, Vienna, Paris, London, Prague, Warsaw, while in Norway he lives secluded, mostly outside the city, first in Lufthus, then near Bergen on his estate called Toldhaugen, that is, "Hill trolls ", and devotes most of his time to creativity.

And yet he does not give up his musical and social work. In the summer of 1898, he organized the first Norwegian music festival in Bergen, which attracted all the major musical figures of the time. The outstanding success of the Bergen festival attracted everyone's attention to Grieg's homeland. Norway could now consider itself an equal participant in the musical life of Europe!

On June 15, 1903, Grieg celebrated his sixtieth birthday. From all parts of the world, he received about five hundred congratulatory telegrams (!) The composer could be proud: it means that his life was not in vain, it means that he brought people joy with his work.

Unfortunately, with age, Grieg's health deteriorated greatly, pulmonary diseases more and more often afflict him ... Grieg died on September 4, 1907. His death was marked in Norway with national mourning.

List of works by E. Grieg

Piano works
Many small plays (op. 1, published in 1862); 70 contained in 10 "Lyric notebooks" (published from 1879 to 1901)
Sonata in e - moll op. 7 (1865)
Ballads in the form of variations, op. 24 (1875)

For piano four hands
Symphonic pieces, op. 14
Norwegian dances, op. 35
Waltzes - caprices (2 pieces) op. 37
Old Norse romance with variations, op. 50 (sixth orchestral edition)
4 Mozart Sonatas for two pianos four hands (F - major, c - minor, C - major, G - major)

Songs and Romances
In total - with those published posthumously - over 140.

Chamber instrumental works
Three Violin Sonatas (F - major, G - major, c - moll)
Cello sonata in a - moll, op.36 (1883)
String quartet, op. 27 (1877 - 1878)

Symphonic works
"Autumn", overture, op. 11 (1865 - 1866)
Piano Concerto a - moll, op. 16 (1868)
2 elegiac melodies (based on their own songs) for string orchestra, op. 34
"From Holberg's Time", suite (5 pieces) for string orchestra, op. 40
2 melodies (based on their own songs) for string orchestra, op. 53
3 orchestral pieces from "Sigurd Yorsalfar" op.56 (1892)
2 Norwegian melodies for string orchestra, op. 63
Symphonic dances on Norwegian motives, op. 64

Vocal and symphonic works
"At the Gates of the Monastery" for female voices - solo and chorus - and orchestra, op. 20 (1870)
"Homecoming" for male voices - solo and chorus - and orchestra, op. 31 (1872)
"Lonely" for baritone, string orchestra and two French horns, op. 32 (1878)
Music to Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt" op.23 (1874 - 1975)
"Bergliot" for recitation with orchestra, op. 42 (1870 - 1871)
Scenes from "Olaf Trygvason" for soloists, chorus and orchestra, op. 50 (1889)

Choirs
Album for male singing (12 choirs) op. thirty
4 psalms on old Norwegian melodies for mixed choir a cappella with baritone or bass, op. 34 (1096)

Literary works
Among the published articles are the main ones: "Wagner's Performances in Bayreuth" (1876), "Robert Schumann" (1893), "Mozart" (1896), "Verdi" (1901), an autobiographical essay "My First Success" (1905).

Edward Hagerup Grieg is the greatest composer who glorified his beloved homeland, Norway, all over the world. Having absorbed Norwegian folklore with his mother's milk, he strove to recreate his unique image in his music.

Born on June 15, 1843 in Bergen, in a wealthy family, from childhood he heard the music of Mozart, Chopin, performed by his mother Gesina Grieg. The family had five children, whom their parents tried to accustom to the world of music.

Edward began playing at the age of 4, immediately defining his future vocation. As a twelve-year-old boy, he writes his first piano work. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Leipzig Conservatory. The city of great composers, Grieg inspired. During his studies he wrote "4 piano pieces", romances on the verses of German poets. His favorite composers were Schumann, Mendelssohn, Schubert, which swept through his early work with a bright musical theme.

After brilliantly graduating from the Conservatory in 1862, Evard returned to his native Bergen. But the city was too small for the development of the creative abilities of a musician - composer. A year later, he moves to Copenhagen. During this period of time he wrote many works: the first symphony, the "Autumn" overture, romances, the first violin sonata. The main theme of the works is folk motives of Norway. At the same time, he met his cousin, who became his wife and faithful companion throughout his life. Family and relatives did not approve of Grieg's marriage with his sister, and the newlyweds were forced to move to Oslo.

The Oslo period was the most creative in the composer's life. In 1868, several collections of his songs, romances, and a piano concert were born. The death of Alexandra's one-year-old daughter put Grieg's family happiness in jeopardy, the wife closed in on herself, happiness left the composer's house. Grieg continued to compose and in 1869 25 Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances were published.

In 1871, Evard, together with his friend Johan Svens, founded a concert society, where the music of contemporary composers (Wagner, Liszt, Schumann) was promoted.

For his services to Norway, Grieg was awarded a state scholarship for life by the government. During this period, his famous music for the dramatic work "Peer Gynt" appears, the premiere of which in 1876 brought the musician fame throughout Europe.

Popularity and material well-being allowed the composer to return to the city of his childhood. In 1883, the composer was diagnosed with a terrible diagnosis of tuberculosis, in the same year his wife left him. For two years Grieg worked alone, but after making peace with his wife, he moved to his villa "Trollhaugen", where he lives until his death in 1907.

The death of the composer shocked not only Norway, but the entire musical Europe. During his lifetime, the festival of Norwegian folk music organized by Grieg has been held in Bergen to this day.

About Grieg

Grieg's music has been heard by many, the peculiarity of his works is an amazing airiness and lightness. By the way, there is proven information about the beneficial effects of the music of this composer for health. Just as the music of Mozart is listened to in order to develop the intellect, Grieg is medically useful for people who are shackled and nervous and suffering from psychosomatic ailments like asthma.

The Norwegian composer and conductor was born in the summer of 1843 in the city of Bergen in the family of a diplomat. Thanks to the excellent musical education that Grieg's mother had, the young man joined music from an early age. In 1858 he entered the Leipzig Conservatory, and upon completion of his studies there he moved to Copenhagen to study under N. Gada.

It should be noted that Grieg got acquainted with Hans Anderson, who appreciated the talent of the young musician. Grieg, in turn, created a number of romances based on the works of the storyteller. Folklore themes attracted the composer, and he chose the option of using elements of folk music and Norwegian culture, in connection with which he later became famous as the national composer of Norway.

Since 1866, Grieg has been living in Oslo, where he meets the playwright Björnson. This acquaintance becomes the reason for the creation of productions and operas based on the plots of the plays of this author. Along with this, the composer is quite active in social activities and becomes the creator of the first national music educational institution - the Academy of Music, which, I must say, was closed after a couple of years. In addition, he created the Philharmonic Society, which exists to this day.

The period of residence in the capital gives the musical world many interesting works, of which the piano concert should be especially noted, which has gained fame as a kind of Norway's anthem. However, the period after moving to his hometown brought the greatest benefits. Once again in Bergen, Grieg creates the music for the drama Peer Gynt, which makes him world famous, in fact, until now the melodies from parts of the Morning and others are recognizable almost everywhere.

For living, the composer chooses his own villa in the so-called Valley of the Trolls. There he settled on the bank of the fjord, near his hometown and lived from 1885 until his own death. Norway's nature and inspiring landscapes have given this author the opportunity to create amazing pieces of his own.

They are the heights of music of the second half of the 19th century. The composer's creative maturation took place in an atmosphere of rapid flourishing of the spiritual life of Norway, an increased interest in its historical past, folklore, and cultural heritage. This time brought a whole "constellation" of talented, nationally distinctive artists - A. Tiedemann in painting, G. Ibsen, B. Björnson, G. Wergeland and O. Vinier in literature. "Over the past twenty years, Norway has experienced such an upsurge in the field of literature, which no other country can boast, except Russia," wrote F. Engels in 1890. "... The Norwegians create much more than others, and they also put their stamp on the literature of other nations, and not least on the German one."

Grieg was born in Bergen, where his father served as British Consul. His mother, a gifted pianist, directed Edward's musical pursuits, she instilled in him a love for Mozart. Following the advice of the famous Norwegian violinist W. Bull, Grieg entered the Leipzig Conservatory in 1858. Although the teaching system did not satisfy the young man, who gravitated towards the romantic music of R. Schumann, F. Chopin and R. Wagner, the years of study did not pass without leaving a trace: he joined European culture, broadened his musical horizons, and mastered professional technique. At the conservatory, Grieg found sensitive mentors who were respectful of his talent (K. Reinecke for composition, E. Wenzel and I. Mosheles for piano, M. Hauptmann for theory). Since 1863 Grieg has been living in Copenhagen, perfecting his composing skills under the guidance of the famous Danish composer N. Gade. Together with his friend, composer R. Nurdrok, Grieg created in Copenhagen the musical society "Euterpa", the purpose of which was to disseminate and promote the work of young Scandinavian composers. Traveling around Norway with Bulle Grieg learned to better understand and feel the national folklore. The romantically rebellious piano Sonata in E minor, the First Violin Sonata, and Humoresques for piano - these are the promising results of the early period of the composer's work.

With the move to Christiania (now Oslo) in 1866, a new and extremely fruitful stage in the composer's life began. Strengthening the traditions of Russian music, uniting the efforts of Norwegian musicians, educating the public - these are the main directions of Grieg's activities in the capital. On his initiative, the Academy of Music was opened in Christiania (1867). In 1871, Grieg founded the Musical Society in the capital, in whose concerts he conducted works by Mozart, Schumann, Liszt and Wagner, as well as contemporary Scandinavian composers - J. Swensen, Nurdrok, Gade, etc. Grieg also acts as a pianist - performer of his piano works and also in an ensemble with his wife, a gifted chamber singer, Nina Hagerup. The works of this period - the Piano Concerto (1868), the first notebook of "Lyric Pieces" (1867), the Second Violin Sonata (1867) - testify to the composer's entry into the period of maturity. However, the enormous creative and educational activities of Grieg in the capital came across a sanctimonious, inert attitude towards art. Living in an atmosphere of envy and misunderstanding, he needed the support of like-minded people. Therefore, a particularly memorable event in his life was the meeting with Liszt, which took place in 1870 in Rome. The parting words of the great musician, his enthusiastic assessment of the Piano Concerto returned Grieg's faith in himself: “Keep up the good work, I’m telling you this. You have the data for that, and don't let yourself be intimidated! " - these words sounded like a blessing for Grieg. The life-long state scholarship, which Grieg received since 1874, made it possible to limit concert and teaching activities in the capital, and to travel to Europe more often. In 1877 Grieg left Christiania. Having turned down friends' offers to settle in Copenhagen and Leipzig, he preferred a secluded and creative life in Hardanger, one of the inland regions of Norway.

Since 1880, Grieg settled in Bergen and its surroundings at the Villa Trollhaugen (Troll Hill). Returning to his homeland had a beneficial effect on the composer's creative state. The crisis of the late 70s. passed, Grieg again experienced a surge of energy. In the quiet of Trollhaugen, two orchestral suites, Peer Gynt, a string quartet in G minor, a suite From Holberg's time, new notebooks of Lyric Pieces, romances and vocal cycles were created. Until the last years of his life, Grieg's educational activities continued (directing concerts of the Bergen musical society "Harmony", organizing the first festival of Norwegian music in 1898). Concentrated composer's work was replaced by tour trips (Germany, Austria, England, France); they contributed to the spread of Norwegian music in Europe, brought new contacts, acquaintances with major contemporary composers - J. Brahms, C. Saint-Saens, M. Reger, F. Busoni, and others.

In 1888, in Leipzig, Grieg met with P. Tchaikovsky. The friendship that linked them for a long time was based, according to Tchaikovsky, "on the undoubted inner relationship of two musical natures." Together with Tchaikovsky, Grieg was awarded the honorary title of Doctor of Cambridge University (1893). Tchaikovsky's Hamlet overture is dedicated to Grieg. The composer's career was completed by Four Psalms to Old Norwegian Melodies for Baritone and Mixed Choir a Cappella (1906). The image of the homeland in the unity of nature, spiritual traditions, folklore, past and present stood at the center of Grieg's work, directing all his searches. “I often mentally embrace the whole of Norway, and this is something very high for me. No great spirit can be loved with the same power as nature! " The most profound and artistically perfect generalization of the epic image of the homeland was the 2 orchestral suites "Peer Gynt", in which Grieg gave his own interpretation of Ibsen's plot. Leaving the characterization of Per as an adventurer, individualist and rebel outside the scope, Grieg created a lyric-epic poem about Norway, glorified the beauty of its nature ("Morning"), painted bizarre fairy-tale images ("In the cave of the mountain king"). The lyrical images of Per's mother - old Oze - and his bride Solveig ("Death to Oze" and "Solveig Lullaby") acquired the meaning of the eternal symbols of the homeland.

The suites show the originality of the Grigov language, which generalized the intonations of Norwegian folklore, the mastery of a concentrated and capacious musical characteristic, in which a multifaceted epic image appears in juxtaposition of short orchestral miniature paintings. The tradition of programmed miniatures by Schumann is being developed by Lyric Pieces for piano. Sketches of northern landscapes ("Spring", "Nocturne", "At Home", "Bells"), genre and character plays ("Lullaby", "Waltz", "Butterfly", "Stream"), Norwegian peasant dances ("Halling "," Springdance "," Gangar "), fantastic characters of folk tales (" Procession of the Dwarfs "," Kobold ") and lyrical plays proper (" Arietta "," Melody "," Elegy ") - a huge world of images is captured in these lyrical "Diaries" of the composer.

Piano miniature, romance and song form the basis of the composer's work. The romances "Swan" (Art. Ibsen), "Sleep" (Art. F. Bogenstedt), "I Love You" (Art. G. X Andersen). Like many romantic composers, Grieg combines vocal miniatures into cycles - "Along the Rocks and Fjords", "Norway", "Girl from the Mountains", etc. Most of the romances use the texts of Scandinavian poets. Links with national literature, the heroic Scandinavian epic were also manifested in vocal and instrumental works for soloists, chorus and orchestra on the texts of B. Bjornson: "At the gates of the monastery", "Return to the homeland", "Olaf Trygvason" (Op. 50).

Instrumental works of large cyclical forms mark the most important milestones in the evolution of the composer. The piano concerto, which opened the period of creative flourishing, was one of the significant phenomena in the history of the genre on the way from L. Beethoven's concerts to P. Tchaikovsky and S. Rachmaninov. The symphonic breadth of development and the orchestral scale of sound characterize the string Quartet in G minor.

A deep sense of the nature of the violin, an instrument extremely popular in Norwegian folk and professional music, was found in three sonatas for violin and piano - in the light-idyllic First; the dynamic, brightly nationally colored Second and in the Third, which is among the composer's dramatic works, together with the piano Ballad in the form of variations on Norwegian folk melodies, the Sonata for cello and piano. In all these cycles, the principles of sonata drama interact with the principles of a suite, a cycle of miniatures (based on free alternation, a "chain" of contrasting episodes that capture sudden changes in impressions, states that form a "stream of surprises", in the words of B. Asafiev).

The genre of the suite dominates in Grieg's symphonic works. In addition to the suites "Peer Gynt", the composer wrote the suite for string orchestra "From Holberg's time" (in the manner of the old suites of Bach and Handel); "Symphonic Dances" on Norwegian themes, a suite from the music to the drama "Sigurd Yorsalfar" by B. Björnson, and others.

Grieg's work quickly found its way to listeners from different countries, already in the 70s. of the last century, it became beloved and deeply entered the musical life of Russia. “Grieg was able to immediately and forever win Russian hearts for himself,” wrote Tchaikovsky. - “In his music, imbued with enchanting melancholy, reflecting the beauty of Norwegian nature, now majestically wide and grandiose, now gray, modest, wretched, but for the soul of a northerner always unspeakably enchanting, there is something close to us, dear, immediately which finds a warm, sympathetic response in our hearts ”.

I. Okhalova

• Features of Norwegian folk music and its influence on the style of Grieg →

Life and creative path

Edward Hagerup Grieg was born on June 15, 1843. His ancestors are Scots (by the name of Greig). But my grandfather also settled in Norway, served as the British consul in the city of Bergen; the same position was held by the composer's father. The family was musical. Mother - a good pianist - taught children music herself. Later, in addition to Edward, his elder brother John received a professional musical education (he graduated from the Leipzig Conservatory in cello with Friedrich Grützmacher and Karl Davydov).

Bergen, where Grieg was born and spent his young years, was famous for its national artistic traditions, especially in the field of theater: here Henrik Ibsen and Björnstierne Björnson began their activities; Ole Bull was born in Bergen and lived for a long time. It was he who first drew attention to the extraordinary musical talent of Edward (the boy was composing from the age of twelve) and advised his parents to send him to the Leipzig Conservatory, which took place in 1858. With short interruptions, Grieg stayed in Leipzig until 1862 (In 1860, Grieg suffered a serious illness that undermined his health: he lost one lung.).

Grieg later did not enjoy the years of conservative education, the scholastic methods of teaching, the conservatism of his teachers, their isolation from life. In tones of good-natured humor, he described these years, as well as his childhood, in an autobiographical essay entitled "My First Success." The young composer found the strength to “throw off the yoke of all the unnecessary rubbish that had been endowed with him by a meager upbringing at home and abroad” - it threatened to send him down the wrong path. “In this power lay my salvation, my happiness,” Grieg wrote. “And when I understood this power, as soon as I recognized myself,“ I realized what I would like to call my own. the only one success ... ". However, his stay in Leipzig gave him a lot: the level of musical life in this city was high. And if not within the walls of the conservatory, then outside of it, Grieg became familiar with the music of contemporary composers, among whom he valued Schumann and Chopin most of all.

Grieg continued to improve as a composer in the music center of what was then Scandinavia - Copenhagen. Its leader was the famous Danish composer, admirer of Mendelssohn, Nils Gade (1817-1890). But even these occupations did not satisfy Grieg: he was looking for new paths in art. Meeting with Rikard Nurdrok helped to discover them - “as if a veil had fallen from my eyes,” he said. Young composers vowed to devote all their efforts to the development of a national Norwegian began in music, they declared a merciless struggle against the romantically softened "Scandinavism", which neutralized the possibility of revealing this beginning. Grieg's creative quest was warmly supported by Ole Bull - during his joint travels in Norway, he devoted his young friend to the secrets of folk art.

New ideological aspirations were not slow to affect the composer's work. In the piano "Humoresques", op. 6 and sonata op. 7, as well as in the violin sonata op. 8 and overture "Autumn" op. 11, the individual features of Grieg's style have already clearly manifested themselves. He improved them more and more in the next period of his life associated with Christiania (now Oslo).

From 1866 to 1874 this most intense period of musical performance and composer's work lasted.

Back in Copenhagen, together with Nurdrok, Grieg organized the Euterpa society, which aimed at promoting the works of young musicians. Returning to his homeland, in the capital of Norway, Christiania, Grieg gave his musical and social activities a broader scope. Heading the Philharmonic Society, he strove, along with the classics, to instill interest and love in the audience for the works of Schumann, Liszt, Wagner, whose names were not yet known in Norway, as well as for the music of Norwegian authors. Grieg also acted as a pianist-performer of his own works, often in collaboration with his wife, chamber singer Nina Hagerup. His musical and educational activities went hand in hand with intensive composing work. It was during these years that he wrote the famous piano concerto, Op. 16, Second Violin Sonata, op. 13 (one of his most beloved compositions) and begins to publish a series of notebooks of vocal pieces, as well as piano miniatures, both intimately lyrical and folk dance.

The great and fruitful activity of Grieg in Christiania, however, did not receive the proper public recognition. He had remarkable allies in his fiery patriotic struggle for democratic national art - first of all, the composer Svensen and the writer Bjornson (with the latter he had many years of friendship), but also many enemies - inert adherents of the old, who darkened the years of his stay in Christiania with their intrigues. Therefore, the friendly help that Liszt rendered him was especially imprinted in the memory of Grieg.

Liszt, having taken the dignity of abbot, lived during these years in Rome. He did not know Grieg personally, but at the end of 1868, having familiarized himself with his First Violin Sonata, amazed at the freshness of the music, he sent an enthusiastic letter to the author. This letter played an important role in the biography of Grieg: List's moral support strengthened his ideological and artistic position. In 1870, they met in person. A noble and generous friend of all talented people in modern music, who especially warmly supported those who identified national beginning in creativity, Liszt warmly accepted Grieg's recently completed piano concerto. He told him: "Keep up the good work, you have all the data for this, and - do not let yourself be intimidated! ..".

Telling his family about his meeting with Liszt, Grieg added: “These words are of infinite importance to me. It's kind of like a blessing. And more than once, in moments of disappointment and bitterness, I will remember his words, and the memories of this hour will magically support me in the days of trials. "

Grieg went to Italy on the state scholarship he received. A few years later, together with Swensen, he received a life pension from the state, which freed him from the need to have a permanent job. In 1873, Grieg left Christiania, and the following year settled in his native Bergen. The next, last, long period of his life begins, marked by great creative successes, public recognition at home and abroad. This period was opened by the creation of music for Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt" (1874-1875). It was this music that made the name of Grieg famous in Europe. Along with the music to "Peru Gynt", a sharply dramatic piano Ballad op. 24, string quartet, op. 27, suite "From Holberg's time" op. 40, a number of notebooks of piano pieces and vocal lyrics, where the composer increasingly turns to the texts of Norwegian poets, and other works. Grieg's music is gaining great popularity, penetrating the concert stage and home life; his works are published by one of the most reputable German publishers, the number of concert tours is multiplying. In recognition of his artistic merits, Grieg was elected a member of a number of academies: Swedish in 1872, Leiden (in Holland) in 1883, French in 1890, and together with Tchaikovsky in 1893 - a doctor of the University of Cambridge.

Over time, Grieg increasingly avoids the noisy metropolitan life. In connection with his touring tours, he has to visit Berlin, Vienna, Paris, London, Prague, Warsaw, while in Norway he lives in solitude, mainly outside the city (first in Lufthus, then near Bergen on his estate called Toldhaugen, that is "Troll Hill"); he devotes most of his time to creativity. And yet Grieg does not give up his musical and social work. For example, during 1880-1882 he directed the Harmony Concert Society in Bergen, and in 1898 he held the first festival of Norwegian music there (of six concerts). But over the years, he had to give up this too: his health deteriorated, pulmonary diseases became more frequent. Grieg died on September 4, 1907. His death was marked as national mourning in Norway.

A feeling of deep sympathy evokes the appearance of Edvard Grieg - an artist and a person. Responsive and gentle in dealing with people, in his activities he was distinguished by honesty and adherence to principles and, without taking direct part in the political life of the country, always acted as a convinced democrat. The interests of his native people were above all for him. That is why, in the years when trends appeared abroad, touched by decadent influence, Grieg acted as one of the largest realistic artists. “I am opposed to all kinds of isms,” he said, arguing with the Wagnerians.

In his few articles, Grieg expresses many well-aimed aesthetic judgments. He admires the genius of Mozart, but at the same time believes that when meeting Wagner "this universal genius, whose soul has always remained alien to any philistinism, would be delighted like a child with all new conquests in the field of drama and orchestra." JS Bach for him is the "cornerstone" of contemporary art. In Schumann, he appreciates above all the "warm, deep-hearted tone" of music. And Grieg considers himself a member of the Schumann school. His penchant for melancholy and dreaminess makes him akin to German music. “However, we love clarity and brevity more,” says Grieg, “even our spoken language is clear and precise. We strive to achieve this clarity and precision in our art. " He finds many warm words for Brahms, and begins his article in memory of Verdi with the words: "The last great one is gone ...".

Grieg had an exceptionally cordial relationship with Tchaikovsky. Their personal acquaintance took place in 1888 and turned into a feeling of deep affection, explained, in the words of Tchaikovsky, "by the undoubted inner kinship of two musical natures." “I am proud to have earned your friendship,” he wrote to Grieg. And he, in turn, dreamed of another meeting "anywhere: in Russia, Norway or elsewhere!" Tchaikovsky expressed his feelings of respect for Grieg by dedicating the fantasy overture Hamlet to him. He gave a remarkable description of Grieg's work in his "Autobiographical Description of Travel Abroad in 1888".

“In his music, imbued with enchanting melancholy, reflecting the beauty of Norwegian nature, now majestically wide and grandiose, now gray, modest, wretched, but for the soul of a northerner always unspeakably enchanting, there is something close to us, dear, immediately finding in our heart warm, sympathetic response ... How much warmth and passion in his melodious phrases, - Tchaikovsky wrote further, - how much the key of beating life in his harmony, how much originality and charming originality in his witty, piquant modulations and rhythm, like everything else , always interesting, new, original! If we add to all these rare qualities the uttermost simplicity, alien to any sophistication and pretensions ... then it is not surprising that everyone loves Grieg, that he is popular everywhere! .. ".

M. Druskin

Compositions:

Piano works
only about 150
Many small pieces (op. 1, published in 1862); 70 is contained in 10 "Lyric Notebooks" (published from the 1870s to 1901)
Among the major works:
Sonata in e-moll, op. 7 (1865)
Ballad in the form of variations, op. 24 (1875)

For piano four hands
Symphonic pieces, op. fourteen
Norwegian dances, op. 35
Waltzes-Caprices (2 pieces) op. 37
Old Norse romance with variations, op. 50 (orchestral edition available)
4 Mozart Sonatas for 2 pianos 4 hands (F major, c minor, C major, G major)

Songs and Romances
total - posthumously published - over 140

Chamber instrumental works
First Violin Sonata in F major, Op. 8 (1866)
Second Violin Sonata G-dur, Op. 13 (1871)
The third violin sonata in c-moll, op. 45 (1886)
Cello sonata in a-minor, op. 36 (1883)
String quartet in g-moll, op. 27 (1877-1878)

Symphonic works
"Autumn", overture, op. 11 (1865-1866)
Piano Concerto in a-moll, Op. 16 (1868)
2 elegiac melodies (based on their own songs) for string orchestra, op. 34
"From Holberg's Time", suite (5 pieces) for string orchestra, op. 40 (1884)
2 suites (9 pieces in total) from the music to the play by G. Ibsen "Peer Gynt", op. 46 and 55 (late 80s)
2 melodies (based on their own songs) for string orchestra, op. 53
3 orchestral pieces from Sigurd Yorsalfar, op. 56 (1892)
2 Norwegian melodies for string orchestra, op. 63
Symphonic dances on Norwegian motives, op. 64

Vocal and symphonic works
theater music
"At the Gates of the Monastery" for female voices - solo and chorus - and orchestra, op. 20 (1870)
"Homecoming" for male voices - solo and chorus - and orchestra, op. 31 (1872, 2nd edition - 1881)
"Lonely" for baritone, string orchestra and two French horns, op. 32 (1878)
Music to Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt", op. 23 (1874-1875) Recordings

Bergen Public Library Norway / Edvard Grieg by the piano

Edward Hagerup Grieg (Norwegian Edvard Hagerup Grieg; June 15, 1843 - September 4, 1907) - Norwegian composer of the Romantic period, music figure, pianist, conductor.

Edvard Grieg was born and spent his youth in Bergen. The city was famous for its national creative traditions, especially in the field of theater: Henryk Ibsen and Björnstierne Björnson began their activities here. In Bergen, Ole Bull was born and lived for a long time, who was the first to notice the musical gift of Edward (who composed music from the age of 12) and advised his parents to send him to the Leipzig Conservatory, which took place in the summer of 1858.

One of the most famous works of Grieg to this day is considered the second suite - "Peer Gynt", which included the plays: "Ingrid's Complaint", "Arab Dance", "The Return of Per Gynt to his Homeland", "Solveig's Song".

Dramatic piece - Ingrid's Complaint, one of the dance tunes that sounded at the wedding of Edward Grieg and Nina Hagerup, who was the composer's cousin. The marriage of Nina Hagerup and Edvard Grieg gave the spouses a daughter, Alexander, who died of meningitis after one year of life, which caused a cooling of relations between the spouses.

Grieg has published 125 songs and romances. About twenty more plays by Grieg were published posthumously. In his lyrics, he turned almost exclusively to the poets of Denmark and Norway, and occasionally to German poetry (G. Heine, A. Chamisso, L. Uhland). The composer showed an interest in Scandinavian literature, and especially in the literature of his native language.

Grieg died in his hometown - Bergen - on September 4, 1907 in Norway. The composer is buried in the same grave with his wife Nina Hagerup.

Biography

Childhood

Edward Grieg was born on June 15, 1843 in Bergen, the son of a descendant of a Scottish merchant. Edward's father, Alexander Grieg, served as the British consul in Bergen, his mother, Gesina Hagerup, was a pianist who graduated from the Hamburg Conservatory, where only men were usually accepted. Edward, his brother and three sisters were taught music from childhood, as was the custom in wealthy families. For the first time, the future composer sat down at the piano at the age of four. At the age of ten, Grieg was sent to a comprehensive school. However, his interests lay in a completely different area, in addition, the boy's independent character often pushed him to deceive teachers. According to the composer's biographers, in the elementary grades, Edward, having learned that the students who were soaked in the frequent rains in his homeland, were allowed to go home to change into dry clothes, Edward began to specially wet his clothes on the way to school. Since he lived far from the school, then by his return, classes were just over.

At the age of twelve, Edvard Grieg was already composing his own music. Classmates gave him the nickname "Mozak" because he was the only one who correctly answered the teacher's question about the author of "Requiem": the rest of the students did not know about Mozart. In music lessons, Edward was a mediocre student, despite his genius in music. The composer's contemporaries tell how Edward once brought to school a musical notebook signed “Variations on a German theme by Edward Grieg, op. No. 1 ". The class teacher showed visible interest and even leafed through it. Grieg was already looking forward to a great success. However, the teacher suddenly tugged at his hair and hissed: "Next time, bring a German dictionary, and leave this nonsense at home!"

early years

The first of the musicians who determined the fate of Grieg was the famous violinist Ole Bull, also an acquaintance of the Grieg family. In the summer of 1858, Bull was visiting the Grieg family, and Edward, in order to respect the dear guest, played a couple of his own compositions on the piano. Listening to music, the usually smiling Ole suddenly became serious and quietly said something to Alexander and Gesina. Then he approached the boy and announced: "You are going to Leipzig to become a composer!"

Thus, fifteen-year-old Edvard Grieg ended up at the Leipzig Conservatory. In the new educational institution, founded by Felix Mendelssohn, Grieg was far from satisfied with everything: for example, his first piano teacher Louis Plaidy, with his gravitation towards music of the early classical period, turned out to be so incongruous to Grieg that he turned to the administration of the conservatory with a request for a transfer (in further Grieg studied with Ernst Ferdinand Wenzel, Moritz Hauptmann, Ignaz Moscheles). After that, the gifted student went to the Gewandhaus concert hall, where he listened to the music of Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner. “I could listen to a lot of good music in Leipzig, especially chamber and orchestral music,” Grieg later recalled. Edvard Grieg graduated from the conservatory in 1862 with excellent grades, acquired knowledge, mild pleurisy and a purpose in life. According to the professors, during the years of study, he showed himself as "an extremely significant musical talent", especially in the field of composition, and also as an outstanding "pianist with his characteristic thoughtful and expressive manner of performance." His destiny henceforth and forever became music. In the same year, in the Swedish city of Karlshamn, he gave his first concert.

Life in Copenhagen

After graduating from the conservatory, the educated musician Edvard Grieg returned to Bergen with an ardent desire to work in his homeland. However, Grieg's stay in his hometown this time was short-lived. The talent of the young musician could not improve in the poorly developed musical culture of Bergen. In 1863, Grieg went to Copenhagen - the center of the musical life of the then Scandinavia.

The years spent in Copenhagen were marked by many important events for Grieg's creative life. First of all, Grieg is in close contact with Scandinavian literature and art. He meets prominent representatives of it, for example, the famous Danish poet and storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. This draws the composer into the mainstream of the national culture close to him. Grieg writes songs based on texts by Andersen and the Norwegian romantic poet Andreas Munch.

In Copenhagen, Grieg found an interpreter of his works, the singer Nina Hagerup, who soon became his wife. The creative collaboration of Edward and Nina Grieg continued throughout their life together. The subtlety and artistry with which the singer performed Grieg's songs and romances were that high criterion of their artistic embodiment, which the composer always had in mind when creating his vocal miniatures.

The desire of young composers to develop national music was expressed not only in their work, in the connection of their music with folk, but also in the promotion of Norwegian music. In 1864, in collaboration with Danish musicians, Grieg and Rikard Nurdrok organized the Euterpa musical society, which was supposed to acquaint the public with the works of Scandinavian composers. This was the beginning of a great musical, social, educational activity. During his life in Copenhagen (1863-1866), Grieg wrote many pieces of music: "Poetic Pictures" and "Humoresques", a piano sonata and the first violin sonata. With each new work, the image of Grieg as a Norwegian composer becomes clearer.

In the lyric work "Poetic Pictures" (1863), national features are very timidly breaking through. The rhythmic figure underlying the third piece is often found in Norwegian folk music; it became characteristic of many of Grieg's melodies. The graceful and simple outlines of the melody in the fifth "picture" are reminiscent of some of the folk songs. In the luscious genre sketches of Yumoresok (1865), the sharp rhythms of folk dances, harsh harmonic combinations sound much bolder; there is a Lydian modal coloration characteristic of folk music. However, in "Humoresques" one can still feel the influence of Chopin (his mazurkas) - a composer whom Grieg, by his own admission, "adored". Piano sonatas and the first violin sonatas appeared at the same time as "Humoresques". The drama and impetuosity inherent in the piano sonata seem to be a somewhat external reflection of Schumann's romance. On the other hand, the light lyricism, hymnism, bright colors of the violin sonata reveal the figurative system typical for Grieg.

Personal life

Edvard Grieg and Nina Hagerup grew up together in Bergen, but as an eight-year-old girl, Nina moved to Copenhagen with her parents. When Edward saw her again, she was already a grown girl. A childhood friend turned into a beautiful woman, a singer with a beautiful voice, as if created for the performance of Grieg's plays. Previously in love only with Norway and music, Edward felt that he was losing his mind from passion. On Christmas Day 1864, in the salon where young musicians and composers gathered, Grieg presented Nina with a collection of love sonnets called Melodies of the Heart, and then knelt down and offered to become his wife. She held out her hand to him and answered in agreement.

However, Nina Hagerup was Edward's cousin. Relatives turned away from him, parents cursed. In spite of everything, they got married in July 1867 and, unable to endure the pressure of their relatives, moved to Christiania.

The first year of marriage was typical for a young family - happy, but financially difficult. Grieg composed, Nina performed his works. Edward had to get a job as a conductor and teach piano in order to save the family's financial situation. In 1868, they had a daughter, who was named Alexandra. A year later, the girl will develop meningitis and die. The incident put an end to the future happy life of the family. After the death of her daughter, Nina withdrew into herself. However, the couple continued their joint concert activities.

They toured Europe with concerts: Grieg played, Nina Hagerup sang. But their tandem did not receive wide recognition. Edward began to despair. His music did not find a response in the hearts, the relationship with his beloved wife cracked. In 1870, Edward and his wife went on tour to Italy. One of those who heard his works in Italy was the famous composer Franz Liszt, whom Grieg admired in his youth. Liszt appreciated the talent of the twenty-year-old composer and invited him to a private meeting. After listening to the piano concerto, the sixty-year-old composer went up to Edward, squeezed his hand and said: “Keep up the good work, we have all the data for this. Don't be intimidated! " “It was something like a blessing,” Grieg later wrote.

In 1872, Grieg wrote Sigurd the Crusader, the first significant play, after which he was recognized by the Swedish Academy of Arts, and the Norwegian authorities awarded him a lifetime scholarship. But the world fame tired the composer and the confused and tired Grieg left for his native Bergen, away from the hubbub of the capital.

Alone, Grieg wrote his main work - the music for the drama by Henrik Ibsen "Peer Gynt". It embodied his experiences of that time. The tune "In the Cave of the Mountain King" (1) reflected the fierce spirit of Norway, which the composer loved to display in his works. The Arabian Dance recognized the world of hypocritical European cities, full of intrigue, gossip and betrayal. The final episode - "Solveig's Song", a piercing and exciting melody, spoke of the lost and forgotten and unforgiven.

Death

Unable to get rid of heartache, Grieg went into creativity. The dampness in his native Bergen aggravated pleurisy, there was a fear that he could turn into tuberculosis. Nina Hagerup grew farther and farther away. The slow agony lasted eight years: in 1883 she left Edward. For three long months Edward lived alone. But old friend Franz Beyer convinced Edward to meet his wife again. “There are so few really close people in the world,” he told a lost friend.

Edvard Grieg and Nina Hagerup reunited and, as a sign of reconciliation, went on tour to Rome, and upon their return they sold their house in Bergen, buying a wonderful estate in the suburbs, which Grieg called "Trollhaugen" - "Troll Hill". It was the first house that Grieg really fell in love with.

Over the years, Grieg became more and more withdrawn. He was little interested in life - he left his home only for the sake of a tour. Edward and Nina have been to Paris, Vienna, London, Prague, Warsaw. During each performance, a clay frog was in the pocket of Grieg's jacket. Before the start of each concert, he always took it out and stroked the back. The talisman worked: every time there was an unimaginable success at concerts.

In 1887, Edward and Nina Hagerup again found themselves in Leipzig. They were invited to celebrate the New Year by the outstanding Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky (later the first performer of Grieg's Third Violin Sonata). In addition to Grieg, there were two more eminent guests - Johann Brahms and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The latter became a close friend of the couple, and a lively correspondence began between the composers. Later, in 1905, Edward wanted to come to Russia, but this was prevented by the chaos of the Russian-Japanese war and the composer's ill health. In 1889, in protest against the Dreyfus affair, Grieg canceled his performance in Paris.

Increasingly, Grieg had lung problems, it became more difficult to go on tour. Despite this, Grieg continued to create and strive for new goals. In 1907, the composer was going to go to a music festival in England. He and Nina stayed at a small hotel in their hometown of Bergen to wait for the ship to London. There Edward felt worse and had to go to the hospital. Edvard Grieg died in his hometown on September 4, 1907.

Musical and creative activity

The first period of creativity. 1866-1874

From 1866 to 1874 this intense period of musical performance and composer's work lasted. Closer to the autumn of 1866, in the capital of Norway - Christiania, Edvard Grieg organized a concert, which sounded like a report on the achievements of Norwegian composers. Then Grieg's piano and violin sonatas, songs by Nurdrok and Hjerulf (to texts by Björnson and others) were performed. This concert allowed Grieg to become the conductor of the Christian Philharmonic Society. Grieg devoted eight years of his life in Christiania to hard work, which brought him many creative victories. Grieg's conducting activity was in the nature of musical enlightenment. The concerts included symphonies by Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann, works by Schubert, oratorios by Mendelssohn and Schumann, and excerpts from operas by Wagner. Grieg paid great attention to the performance of works by Scandinavian composers.

In 1871, together with Johan Svensen Grieg, he organized a society of musicians-performers, designed to increase the activity of the concert life of the city, to reveal the creative possibilities of Norwegian musicians. Significant for Grieg was his rapprochement with the leading representatives of Norwegian poetry and fiction. It included the composer in the general movement for national culture. Grieg's creativity of these years has reached full maturity. He writes a Piano Concerto (1868) and the Second Sonata for Violin and Piano (1867), the first volume of Lyric Pieces, which became his favorite form of piano music. Many songs were written by Grieg in those years, among them wonderful songs based on texts by Andersen, Bjornson, Ibsen.

While in Norway, Grieg comes into contact with the world of folk art, which has become the source of his own creativity. In 1869, the composer first became acquainted with the classic collection of Norwegian musical folklore, compiled by the famous composer and folklorist LM Lindemann (1812-1887). A direct result of this was Grieg's cycle Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances for Piano. Images presented here: favorite folk dances - halling and spring dance, various comic and lyrical, labor and peasant songs. Academician BV Asafiev aptly called these treatments “sketches of songs”. This cycle was for Grieg a kind of creative laboratory: in contact with folk songs, the composer found those methods of musical writing that were rooted in folk art itself. Only two years separate the second violin sonata from the first. Nevertheless, the Second Sonata "is notable for the richness and variety of themes, the freedom of their development," according to music critics.

The second sonata and the piano concerto were highly praised by Liszt, who became one of the first propagandists of the concert. In a letter to Grieg, Liszt wrote about the Second Sonata: "It testifies to a strong, deep, inventive, excellent composer's talent, which can only follow its own natural path in order to achieve high perfection." For the composer, who was making his way in the art of music, for the first time to represent the music of Norway on the European stage, Liszt's support has always been a strong support.

In the early 70s, Grieg was busy thinking about opera. Musical dramas and theater became a great inspiration for him. Grieg's plans were not implemented mainly because there were no traditions of opera culture in Norway. Moreover, the librettos promised to Grieg were never written. From the attempt to create an opera, only music remained for individual scenes of Björnson's unfinished libretto Olaf Trygvason (1873), according to the legend of King Olaf, who planted Christianity among the inhabitants of Norway in the 10th century. Grieg writes music for Björnson's dramatic monologue Bergliot (1871), which tells the story of the heroine of a folk saga that rouses the peasants to fight the king, as well as music for the drama by the same author Sigurd Jursalfar (the plot of the Old Icelandic saga).

In 1874 Grieg received a letter from Ibsen with a proposal to write music for the production of the drama Peer Gynt. Collaboration with the talented Norwegian writer was of great interest to the composer. By his own admission, Grieg was "a fanatical admirer of many of his poetic works, especially Pera Gynt." Grieg's passion for the work of Ibsen coincided with the desire to create a major musical and theatrical work. During 1874, Grieg wrote the music for Ibsen's drama.

Second period. Concert activities. Europe. 1876-1888

The performance of Peer Gynt in Christiania on February 24, 1876 was a great success. Grieg's music began to become popular in Europe. A new creative period begins in the composer's life. Grieg stops working as a conductor in Christiania. Grieg moved to a secluded area among the beautiful nature of Norway: first it is Lofthus, on the banks of one of the fiords, and then the famous Trollhaugen ("troll hill", the name given to the place by Grieg himself), in the mountains, not far from his native Bergen. From 1885 until the death of Grieg, Trollhaugen was the composer's main residence. “Healing and new life energy” come in the mountains, “new ideas grow” in the mountains, and Grieg returns from the mountains “as a new and better person”. Grieg's letters often contain similar descriptions of the mountains and nature of Norway. So Grieg writes in 1897:

“I saw such beauties of nature, which I had no idea about ... A huge chain of snowy mountains with fantastic shapes rose directly from the sea, while the dawn in the mountains was four o'clock in the morning, a bright summer night and the whole landscape was as if painted with blood. It was unique! "

Songs written under the inspiration of the Norwegian nature - "In the forest", "Hut", "Spring", "The sea shines in bright rays", "Good morning".

Since 1878, Grieg has performed not only in Norway, but also in various European countries as a performer of his own works. Grieg's European fame is growing. Concert trips become systematic and bring great pleasure to the composer. Grieg gives concerts in the cities of Germany, France, England, Holland, Sweden. He acts as a conductor and pianist, as an ensemble player, accompanying Nina Hagerup. A humble man, Grieg in his letters notes "gigantic applause and countless challenges", "colossal sensation", "gigantic success." Grieg did not leave concert activity until the end of his days; in 1907 (the year of his death) he wrote: "Invitations to conduct are pouring in from all over the world!"

Grieg's numerous trips led to the establishment of contacts with musicians from other countries. In 1888, Grieg met with PI Tchaikovsky in Leipzig. Having received an invitation in the year when Russia was at war with Japan, Grieg did not consider it possible for himself to accept it: "It is mysterious for me how one can invite a foreign artist to a country where almost every family mourns the fallen in war." “It's a shame that this should have happened. First of all, you have to be human. All true art grows only from a person. " All Grieg's activities in Norway are an example of pure and selfless service to his people.

The last period of musical creativity. 1890-1903

In the 1890s, Grieg's attention was most of all occupied by piano music and songs. From 1891 to 1901, Grieg wrote six notebooks of Lyric Pieces. Several vocal cycles of Grieg belong to the same years. In 1894, he wrote in one of his letters: "I ... tuned in so lyrically that the songs are pouring out of my chest like never before, and I think they are the best I've ever created." The author of numerous adaptations of folk songs, the composer, always so closely associated with folk music in 1896, the cycle "Norwegian Folk Melodies" is nineteen subtle genre sketches, poetic pictures of nature and lyrical expressions. Grieg's last major orchestral work, Symphonic Dances (1898), was written on folk themes.

In 1903, a new cycle of folk dance arrangements for piano appeared. In the last years of his life, Grieg published the witty and lyrical autobiographical story "My First Success" and the programmatic article "Mozart and Its Significance for the Present." They clearly expressed the composer's creative credo: striving for originality, for defining his style, his place in music. Despite a serious illness, Grieg continued his creative activity until the end of his life. In April 1907, the composer made a big concert tour around the cities of Norway, Denmark, and Germany.

Characteristics of the works

The characteristic was compiled by B.V. Asafiev and M.A.Druskin.

Lyric pieces

Lyric Pieces make up the bulk of Grieg's piano work. Grieg's Lyrical Pieces continue the type of chamber piano music represented by Schubert's Musical Moments and Impromptu, Mendelssohn's Songs without Words. The spontaneity of expression, lyricism, the expression in the play of predominantly one mood, a penchant for small scale, simplicity and accessibility of artistic conception and technical means are the features of romantic piano miniature, which are also characteristic of Grieg's Lyric Pieces.

The lyrical pieces fully reflect the theme of the composer's homeland, which he loved and revered so much. The theme of the Motherland sounds in the solemn "Native Song", in the calm and majestic play "At Home", in the genre-lyrical scene "To the Motherland", in numerous folk-dance plays, conceived as genre-everyday sketches. The theme of the Motherland continues in the magnificent "musical landscapes" of Grieg, in the peculiar motives of folk-fiction plays ("Procession of the Dwarfs", "Kobold").

Echoes of the composer's impressions are shown in works with live titles. Such as, "Bird", "Butterfly", "The Watchman's Song", written under the impression of Shakespeare's "Macbeth"), the composer's musical porter - "Gade", pages of lyrical statements "Arietta", "Impromptu Waltz", "Memories") - this is the circle of images of the cycle of the composer's homeland. Impressions of life, fanned by lyricism, a living feeling of the author - the meaning of the composer's lyric works.

The peculiarities of the style of "lyric pieces" are as varied as their content. Very many plays are characterized by extreme laconicism, scanty and precise strokes of miniature; but in some plays there is a tendency towards picturesque, broad, contrasting composition ("Procession of the Dwarfs", "Gangar", "Nocturne"). In some of the pieces one can hear the subtlety of the chamber style ("Dance of the Elves"), others sparkle with bright colors, impress with the virtuoso brilliance of concert performance ("Wedding Day at Trollhaugen")

"Lyric Pieces" are distinguished by their great genre diversity. Here we meet elegy and nocturne, lullaby and waltz, song and arietta. Very often Grieg turns to the genres of Norwegian folk music (spring dance, halling, gangar).

The artistic integrity of the cycle of "Lyric Pieces" is given by the principle of programmaticity. Each piece opens with a title defining its poetic image, and in each piece the simplicity and subtlety with which the "poetic task" is embodied in music is striking. Already in the first notebook of Lyric Pieces, the artistic principles of the cycle were determined: the variety of content and lyrical tone of music, attention to the themes of the Motherland and the connection of music with folk origins, laconicism and simplicity, clarity and grace of musical and poetic images.

The cycle opens with a light lyric "Arietta". An extremely simple, childishly pure and naive melody, only slightly "agitated" by sensitive romance intonations, creates an image of youthful spontaneity, peace of mind. The expressive "ellipsis" at the end of the play (the song breaks off, "freezes" at the initial intonation, it seems that the thought has drifted into other spheres), as a vivid psychological detail, creates a vivid sensation, a vision of the image. The melodic intonations and texture of "Arietta" reproduce the character of the vocal piece.

"Waltz" is distinguished by its striking originality. A graceful and fragile melody with sharp rhythmic outlines appears against the background of the typically waltz figure of the accompaniment. "Capricious" variable accents, triplets on a strong beat, reproducing the rhythmic figure of spring dance, add a peculiar flavor of Norwegian music to the waltz. It is enhanced by the modal color characteristic of Norwegian folk music (melodic minor).

"Album Leaf" combines the spontaneity of lyrical feeling with the grace, "gallantry" of an album poem. The intonations of a folk song are heard in the artless melody of this piece. But light, airy ornamentation conveys the sophistication of this simple melody. Subsequent cycles of "Lyric Pieces" bring new images and new artistic means. "Lullaby" from the second notebook of "Lyric Pieces" sounds like a dramatic scene. An even, calm melody is made up of variants of a simple melody, as if growing out of a measured movement, swaying. With each new holding it increases the feeling of peace, light.

"Gangar" is based on the development and variant repetitions of one theme. It is all the more interesting to note the figurative versatility of this play. The continuous, unhurried development of the melody corresponds to the character of a stately flowing dance. The intonations of fluted tunes intertwined with the melody, a long sustained bass (a detail of the folk instrumental style), harsh harmonies (a chain of large seventh chords), sometimes sounding rough, “awkward” (like a discordant ensemble of village musicians) - this gives the play a pastoral, rural flavor. But now new images appear: short imperious signals and response phrases of a lyrical nature. It is interesting that with a figurative change in the theme, its metro-rhythmic structure remains unchanged. With the new version of the melody, new figurative facets appear in the reprise. Light sounding in a high register, clear tonality impart a calm, contemplative, solemn character to the theme. The melody descends smoothly and gradually, singing every tone of the key, keeping the "purity" of C major. The thickening of the register color and the amplification of the sound lead the light, transparent theme to a harsh, gloomy sound. It seems that this procession of melody will never end. But now, with a sharp tonal shift (C-major-As-major), a new version is introduced: the theme sounds majestic, solemn, chased.

The Procession of the Dwarfs is one of the splendid examples of Grieg's musical fiction. In the contrasting composition of the play, the whimsicality of the fairy-tale world, the underworld of the trolls and the enchanting beauty and clarity of nature are opposed to each other. The play is written in three parts. The extreme parts are distinguished by bright dynamism: in the rapid movement, the fantastic outlines of the "procession" flash. Musical means are extremely stingy: motor rhythm and, against its background, a whimsical and sharp pattern of metric accents, syncope; chromaticities compressed in tonic harmony and scattered, harsh sounding large seventh chords; "Knocking" melody and sharp "whistling" melodic figures; dynamic contrasts (pp-ff) between the two sentences of the period and wide leagues of rise and fall of sonority. The image of the middle part is revealed to the listener only after the fantastic visions have disappeared (a long la, from which a new melody seems to pour out). The light sounding of the theme, simple in structure, is associated with the sound of a folk melody. Its clean, clear structure is reflected in the simplicity and severity of the harmonic make-up (alternation of the major tonic and its parallels).

Wedding Day at Trollhaugen is one of Grieg's most joyful, jubilant pieces. In terms of brightness, "catchiness" of musical images, scale and virtuoso brilliance, it approaches the type of a concert piece. Its character is most of all determined by the genre prototype: the movement of a march, a solemn procession, lies at the basis of the play. How confidently and proudly invocative ups and chased rhythmic endings of melodic images sound. But the melody of the march is accompanied by a characteristic fifth bass, which adds to its solemnity the simplicity and charm of the rural flavor: the piece is full of energy, movement, bright dynamics - from muted tones, a mean transparent texture of the beginning to a sonorous ff, bravura passages, a wide range of sound. The play is written in a complex three-part form. The solemn festive images of the extreme parts are contrasted with the gentle lyrics of the middle. Her melody, as if sung in a duet (the melody is imitated in octaves), is built on sensitive romance intonations. There are contrasts in the extreme sections of the form, which are also three-part. The middle evokes a dance scene in the performance with the opposition of energetic courageous movement and light graceful "steps". A huge increase in the power of sounding, the activity of movement leads to a bright, sonorous reprise, to the culmination of the theme, as if lifted by the strong, powerful chords that preceded it.

The contrasting theme of the middle section, tense, dynamic, combining active, energetic intonations with elements of recitation, brings notes of drama. After it, in the reprise, the main theme sounds with disturbing exclamations. Its structure has been preserved, but it has taken on the character of a living expression, the tension of human speech is heard in it. The gentle lulling intonations at the top of this monologue turned into mournful, pathetic exclamations. In "Lullaby" Grieg managed to convey a whole range of feelings through.

Romances and songs

Romances and songs are one of the main genres of Grieg's work. Romances and songs were mostly written by the composer at his Trollhaugen Estate (Troll Hill). Grieg created romances and songs throughout his creative life. The first cycle of romances appeared in the year of graduation from the conservatory, and the last one quite shortly before the composer's career ended.

Passion for vocal lyrics and its wonderful flourishing in the work of Grieg were largely associated with the flourishing of Scandinavian poetry, which awakened the composer's imagination. The verses of Norwegian and Danish poets form the basis of the overwhelming majority of Grieg's romances and songs. Among the poetic texts of Grieg's songs are poems by Ibsen, Bjornson, Andersen.

In the songs of Grieg, a large world of poetic images, impressions and feelings of a person arises. Pictures of nature, written in a bright and picturesque manner, are present in the vast majority of songs, most often as a background of a lyrical image ("In the forest", "Hut", "The sea shines in bright rays"). The theme of the Motherland sounds in the sublime lyrical hymns ("Towards Norway"), in the images of its people and nature (the cycle of songs "From the rocks and fjords"). The life of a person appears varied in the songs of Grieg: with the purity of youth ("Margarita"), the joy of love ("I love you"), the beauty of labor ("Ingeborg"), with those sufferings that are encountered on the path of man ("Lullaby", "Woe mother "), with his thought about death (" The Last Spring "). But no matter what Grieg's songs "sang" about, they always carry a sense of the fullness and beauty of life. Various traditions of the chamber vocal genre continue their life in the songwriting of Grieg. Grieg has many songs based on an integral broad melody that conveys the general character, the general mood of the poetic text ("Good morning", "Hut"). Along with such songs, there are also romances in which subtle musical declamation marks the nuances of feelings ("Swan", "In Separation"). Grieg's ability to combine these two principles is peculiar. Without violating the integrity of the melody and the generalization of the artistic image, Grieg is able to concretize, to make the details of the poetic image tangible with the expressiveness of individual intonations, the successfully found strokes of the instrumental part, the subtlety of harmonic and modal coloring.

In the early period of his work, Grieg often turned to the poetry of the great Danish poet and storyteller Andersen. In his poems, the composer found poetic images consonant with his own structure of feelings: the happiness of love, which reveals to man the endless beauty of the surrounding world, nature. In songs based on Andersen's lyrics, the type of vocal miniature characteristic of Grieg was defined; song melody, couplet form, generalized transmission of poetic images. All this allows us to classify such works as "In the Forest", "Hut", to the genre of song (but not romance). With a few bright and precise musical touches, Grieg brings in vivid, "visible" details of the image. The national character of the melody and harmonic colors gives special charm to Grieg's songs.

“In the Woods” is a kind of nocturne, a song about love, about the magical beauty of the nocturnal nature. The swiftness of movement, lightness and transparency of the sound determine the poetic appearance of the song. The melody, wide, freely developing, naturally combines impetuosity, scurry and soft lyrical intonations. Subtle shades of dynamics, expressive changes of mode (variability), mobility of melodic intonations, sometimes alive and light, sometimes sensitive, sometimes bright and jubilant, accompaniment, sensitively following the melody - all this gives the figurative versatility of the whole melody, emphasizes the poetic colors of the verse. A light musical touch in the instrumental introduction, in the interlude and in the conclusion creates an imitation of forest voices and birdsong.

"Izbushka" is a musical and poetic idyll, a picture of happiness, the beauty of human life in the bosom of nature. The genre basis of the barcarole song. Calm movement, uniform rhythmic swaying perfectly correspond to the poetic mood (serenity, peace) and the picturesque nature of the verse (movement and bursts of waves). The punctured rhythm of accompaniment, unusual for a barcarole, frequent in Grieg and characteristic of Norwegian folk music, imparts clarity and elasticity to the movement.

A light, plastic melody seems to hover over the chased texture of the piano part. The song is written in a stanza form. Each stanza consists of a period with two contrasting sentences. In the second one feels the tension, the lyrical intensity of the melody; the stanza ends with a clearly defined climax; in words: "... because love lives here."

The free moves of the melody in thirds (with the characteristic sound of a great seventh), quarts, fifths, the breadth of the melody's breath, a uniform barcarole rhythm create a feeling of spaciousness and lightness.

The First Meeting is one of the most poetic pages of Grigov's song lyrics. The image close to Grieg - the fullness of lyrical feeling, equal to the feeling that nature, art gives to man - is embodied in music, full of peace, purity, sublimity. A single melody, wide, freely developing, "embraces" the entire poetic text. But in the motives, phrases of the melody, the details of it are reflected. Naturally, the motive of playing a horn with a muffled minor repetition is woven into the vocal part - like a distant echo. The initial phrases, "hovering" around long foundations, based on stable tonic harmony, on static plagal turns, with the beauty of chiaroscuro, recreate the mood of peace and contemplation, the beauty that the poem breathes. But the conclusion of the song, based on the wide spills of the melody, with gradually increasing "waves" of the melody, with the gradual "conquest" of the melodic peak, with tense melodic moves, reflects the brightness and strength of emotions.

"Good morning" is a bright hymn to nature, full of joy and exultation. Bright D-major, fast tempo, clearly rhythmic, close to dance, energetic movement, a single melodic line for the whole song, directed to the top and crowned with a culmination - all these simple and bright musical means are complemented by subtle expressive details: elegant "vibrato", "Decoration" of the melody, as if ringing in the air ("the forest is ringing, the bumblebee is buzzing"); a variant repetition of a part of the melody (“the sun has risen”) in a different, tonally brighter sound; short melodic ups with a stop at a major third, all amplified in sound; bright "fanfare" in the piano conclusion. Among the songs of Grieg, a cycle on the verses of G. Ibsen stands out. Lyric and philosophical content, sorrowful, concentrated images seem unusual against the general light background of Grigov's songs. The best of Ibsen's songs - "Swan" - is one of the heights of Grieg's work. Beauty, the strength of the creative spirit and the tragedy of death - this is the symbolism of Ibsen's poem. Musical images, like the poetic text, are distinguished by the utmost laconicism. The contours of the melody are due to the expressiveness of the recitation of the verse. But stingy intonations, intermittent free-declamatory phrases grow into an integral melody, single and continuous in its development, harmonious in form (the song is written in three-part form). The measured movement and low mobility of the melody at the beginning, the severity of the texture of the accompaniment and harmony (the expressiveness of the plagal turns of the minor subdominant) create a feeling of grandeur and peace. Emotional tension in the middle part is achieved with even greater concentration, "stinginess" of musical means. Harmony freezes on dissonant sounds. A measured, calm melodic phrase achieves drama, increasing the pitch and strength of the sound, highlighting the summit, final intonation with repetitions. The beauty of the tonal play in the reprise, with the gradual enlightenment of the register color, is perceived as a triumph of light and peace.

Many songs were written by Grieg to the verses of the Norwegian peasant poet Osmund Vigne. Among them is one of the composer's masterpieces - the song "Spring". The motive of the spring awakening, the spring beauty of nature, frequent in Grieg, is connected here with an unusual lyrical image: the sharpness of perception of the last spring in a person's life. The musical solution of the poetic image is remarkable: it is a light lyric song. The wide flowing melody consists of three constructions. Similar in intonation and rhythmic structure, they are variants of the initial image. But the feeling of repetition does not arise for a moment. On the contrary: the melody pours with great breath, with each new phase approaching the sublime hymn sounding.

Very subtly, without changing the general nature of the movement, the composer translates musical images from picturesque, bright to emotional (“into the distance, into the distance, space beckons”): whimsicality disappears, firmness appears, aspiration of rhythm, unsteady harmonic sounds are replaced by stable ones. A sharp tonal contrast (G-dur - Fis-dur) contributes to the clarity of the line between different images of the poetic text. Giving a clear preference to the Scandinavian poets in the choice of poetic texts, Grieg only at the beginning of his career wrote several romances on the texts of the German poets Heine, Chamisso, Uhland

Piano concert

Grieg's Piano Concerto is one of the outstanding works of this genre in European music of the second half of the 19th century. The lyrical interpretation of the concert brings Grieg's work closer to that branch of the genre, which is represented by Chopin's and especially Schumann's piano concertos. The closeness to the Schumann concert is found in romantic freedom, the brightness of the expression of feelings, in the subtle lyric and psychological nuances of music, in a number of compositional techniques. However, the Norwegian national flavor and the typical for the composer imaginative structure of the work determined the vivid originality of the Grigov concert.

The three parts of the concert correspond to the traditional dramaturgy of the cycle: the dramatic "knot" in the first part, lyrical concentration in the second, folk-genre picture in the third.

A romantic impulse of feelings, light lyrics, an assertion of the volitional principle - this is the figurative system and the line of development of images in the first part.

The second part of the concert is a small but psychologically multifaceted Adagio. Its dynamic three-part form follows from the development of the main image from concentrated, with notes of dramatic lyricism to an open and complete revelation of a bright, strong feeling.

The finale, written in the form of a rondo sonata, is dominated by two images. In the first theme - a cheerful energetic halling - folk-genre episodes found their completion as a "life background", shading the dramatic line of the first part.

Artworks

Major works

* Suite "From Holberg's Times", Op. 40

* Six Lyric Pieces for Piano, Op. 54

* Symphonic dances, op. 64, 1898)

* Norwegian dances op. 35, 1881)

* String Quartet in G minor, Op. 27, 1877-1878)

* Three Violin Sonatas, Op. 8, 1865

* Cello Sonata in A minor, Op. 36, 1882)

* Concert overture "Autumn" (I Hst, op. 11), 1865)

* Sigurd Jorsalfar op. 26, 1879 (three orchestral pieces from the music to the tragedy of B. Bjornson)

* Wedding Day at Toldhaugen, Op. 65, No. 6

* Heart Wounds (Hjertesar) From Two Elegiac Melodies, Op.34 (Lyric Suite Op.54)

* Sigurd Jorsalfar, Op. 56 - Homage March

* Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46

* Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55

* Last Spring (Varen) from Two Elegiac Pieces, Op. 34

* Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16

Chamber instrumental works

* First Violin Sonata in F major, Op. 8 (1866)

* Second Violin Sonata G-dur, Op. 13 (1871)

* Third Violin Sonata in c minor Op. 45 (1886)

* Cello sonata in a minor op. 36 (1883)

* String quartet in g-moll op. 27 (1877-1878)

Vocal and symphonic works (theater music)

* "Lonely" for baritone, string orchestra and two French horns - op. 32

* Music to Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt" op. 23 (1874-1875)

* "Bergliot" for recitation with orchestra, op. 42 (1870-1871)

* Scenes from Olaf Trygvason, for soloists, choir and orchestra, op. 50 (1888)

Piano Works (about 150 total)

* Small pieces (Op. 1 published in 1862); 70

contained in 10 "Lyric notebooks" (published from the 70s to 1901)

* Among the major works: Sonata in e-moll op. 7 (1865),

* Ballad in the form of variations op. 24 (1875)

* For piano, 4 hands

* Symphonic pieces op. fourteen

* Norwegian Dances Op. 35

* Waltzes-Caprices (2 pieces) Op. 37

* Old Norse romance with variations, Op. 50 (there is an orc. Ed.)

* 4 Mozart Sonatas for 2 pianos 4 hands (F major, c minor, C major, G major)

Choirs (total - with posthumously published - over 140)

* Album for male singing (12 choirs) op. thirty

* 4 psalms on old Norwegian tunes, for mixed choir

* a capella with baritone or bass op. 70 (1906)

Interesting Facts

Unfinished opera by E. Grieg (op. 50) - turned into children's opera-epic "Asgard"

Call from the other world

Grieg gave a big concert in the city of Oslo, the program of which consisted exclusively of the works of the composer. But at the last minute, Grieg unexpectedly replaced the very last number of the program with a piece by Beethoven. The next day, a very venomous review of a famous Norwegian critic, who did not really like Grieg's music, appeared in the largest metropolitan newspaper. The critic was especially strict about the last number of the concert, noting that this "composition is simply ridiculous and completely unacceptable." Grieg called this critic on the phone and said:

You are worried about the spirit of Beethoven. I must inform you that the last piece performed in Grieg's concert was composed by me!

From such embarrassment, the unfortunate disgraced critic suffered a heart attack.

Where to put the order?

Once the king of Norway, a passionate admirer of Grieg's music, decided to award the famous composer with the order and invited him to the palace. Putting on a tailcoat, Grieg went to the reception. The Order of Grieg was presented by one of the Grand Dukes. After the presentation, the composer said:

Convey to His Majesty my gratitude and appreciation for the attention to my humble person.

Then, turning the order in his hands and not knowing what to do with it, Grieg hid it in the pocket of his tailcoat, which was sewn on the back, at the very bottom of the back. An awkward impression was created that Grieg had stuffed the order somewhere in his back pockets. However, Grieg himself did not understand this. But the king was very offended when he was told where Grieg put the Order.

Miracles do happen!

Grieg and his friend the conductor Franz Beyer often went fishing in the town of Nurdo Svannet. Once on a fishing trip, Grieg suddenly had a musical phrase. He took a piece of paper from his bag, wrote it down and calmly put the paper next to him. A sudden gust of wind blew the leaf into the water. Grieg did not notice that the paper was gone, and Beyer quietly fished it out of the water. He read the recorded melody and, hiding the paper, began to hum it. Grieg turned around with lightning speed and asked:

What is this? .. Beyer replied completely unperturbed:

Just an idea that just came to my mind.

- "" Well, but everyone says that miracles do not happen! - Grieg said in great amazement. -

Imagine, after all, a few minutes ago, I also came up with exactly the same idea!

Mutual praise

Edward Grieg's meeting with Franz Liszt took place in Rome, in 1870, when Grieg was about twenty-seven years old, and Liszt was preparing to meet his sixtieth birthday. Grieg showed Liszt, along with his other compositions, the Piano Concerto in A minor, which was extremely difficult. Holding his breath, the young composer waited for what the great Liszt would say. After looking at the score, Liszt asked:

Will you play it for me?

No! I can not! Even if I start rehearsing for a month, I’ll hardly play it, because I have never specially studied the piano.

I can't either, it's too unusual, but let's try. '' With these words Liszt sat down at the piano and began to play. And best of all he played the most difficult passages in the Concert. When Liszt finished playing, the astonished Edvard Grieg breathed out:

Fabulous! Incomprehensible ...

I subscribe to your opinion. The concert is really great, ”Liszt smiled good-naturedly.

Grieg's legacy

Today, the work of Edvard Grieg is highly revered, especially in the composer's homeland - in Norway.

His works are actively performed as a pianist and conductor by one of the most famous Norwegian musicians today, Leif Ove Andsnes. The house where the composer lived for great years - "Trollhaugen" became a house-museum open to the public.

Here visitors are shown the native walls of the composer, his estate, interiors, memorabilia belonging to Edward Grieg are also preserved.

Permanent things that belonged to the composer: coat, hat and violin still hang on the wall of his workhouse. Near the manor, a monument to Edward Grieg is unveiled, which can be seen by everyone who has visited "Trollhaugen" and the workers' hut, where Grieg composed his best musical works and wrote arrangements of folk motives.

Music corporations continue to produce CDs and audiotapes of some of Edward Grieg's greatest works. CDs of Grieg's melodies in modern processing are released (see in this article Musical fragments - "Erotica", "Wedding Day in Trollhaugen"). The name of Edvard Grieg is still associated with the Norwegian culture and musical creativity of the country. Grieg's classical pieces are used in a variety of artistic and cultural events. Various musical performances, scripts of professional performances on ice and other performances are staged.

"In the Cave of the Mountain King" is perhaps the most popular and recognizable composition by Grieg.

She has gone through many treatments by pop musicians. Candice Knight and Ritchie Blackmore even wrote lyrics to "The Mountain King's Cave" and reworked it as the song "Hall of the Mountain King". Composition, its fragments and adaptations are often used in soundtracks for films, TV shows, computer games, commercials, etc., when it is required to create a mysterious, slightly ominous or slightly ironic atmosphere.

For example, in the film "M" she clearly showed the character of Peter Lorre's character - Beckert, a maniac who hunted children.