Edvard Grieg is Norway’s greatest composer and his music is a national treasure. For most of his life, he saw his country under the power of other nations and struggling to be free. His music gave Norway its own voice and celebrated its many wonders… He created musical pictures of Norway’s breathtaking landscapes, from the fjords to the countryside; he made the folk tales of trolls and dwarfs come alive; he created richly lyrical music from the folk songs he heard the peasants sing. His music is  original, unique, and turned the eyes of the music world north towards the land of the midnight sun. Grieg’s music is some of the most recognizable and loved of all classical music!

During our lesson time we will be talking a little bit about Grieg. Our homework will be to color the Grieg coloring page while enjoying some of his music (some suggestions and a link to a short biography are given below). After listening to his music fill in the three blank lines on the coloring page with answers to the prompt: “Grieg’s music makes me think of…”

SUGGESTED VIDEOS FOR LISTENING HOMEWORK

“In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt Suite no. 1 – Probably Grieg’s most famous and recognizable piece! It has been used in numerous movies, tv shows, video games, and cartoons and by popular musicians. It was originally composed as incidental music for Act II of “Peer Gynt”, a play written by Henrik Ibsen. At this point in the play, Peer is in a dream-like state after hitting his head on a rock. He arrives at Dovregubben’s hall. The troll king offers Peer the hand of his daughter in marriage. She is lovely, but in order to marry her, Peer must become a troll… he would have to grow a tail, never again see the light of day, and slit his eyes to see the world as a troll does. Peer does not like what he hears and later that evening tries to escape. The music starts off quietly as Peer slips out of his bedroom and tip-toes his way through the mountain. Unfortunately he runs into guards and the music speeds up as the trolls chase Peer through the mountain. Just as he is being surrounded by the trolls, church bells chime and the trolls melt away. Peer is safe! The music ends with a loud crash before the church bells chime.

Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16 – This is the only piano concerto that Grieg completed and it is one of the most popular and widely performed of all piano concerti. Grieg composed this piece in a whirlwind of inspiration surrounding his marriage to Nina Hagerup and the birth of their daughter Alexandra.

Troldtog (The March of the Dwarfs), Op. 54 No. 3 – Grieg composed 66 short pieces for the piano which were compiled into 10 volumes called the Lyric Pieces. They include some of his most well-known pieces, such as “The March of the Dwarfs” (also translated as “The March of the Trolls”), “Wedding Day at Troldhaugen”, “To Spring”, and “Butterfly”, as well as one of Grieg’s personal favorites “Arietta”.

Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Op. 65 No. 6 – Grieg composed this piece to commemorate his and Nina’s 25th wedding anniversary. Troldhaugen is the name of the home Grieg and his wife built and shared in Bergen, Norway from 1885 until his death in 1907. The name Troldhaugen, meaning “Troll Hill”, was chosen by Grieg after hearing that local children nicknamed the nearby valley “The Valley of the Trolls”.  Grieg and his wife were both laid to rest in a mountain tomb close to the house.

Peer Gynt Suites 1 and 2 – Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian dramatist, approached Grieg to compose the incidental music for his play “Peer Gynt”.  The play chronicles the journeys of Peer Gynt, a rather unlikable fellow, from Norway to the north of Africa. Grieg worked on the music from 1874 to 1876. It contains three of Grieg’s most loved pieces: “Morning Mood” (the opening), “Anitra’s Dance”, and “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. Today Grieg’s music is infinitely more famous than the play!

BIOGRAPHY OF Edvard Grieg

For a biography of Edvard Grieg check out Encyclopedia Britannica’s entry Edvard Grieg.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

• “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Allison Miller Flannery, ISBN-13:  978-1938633133