Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)

Donald Macleod explores Grieg's music through the places from which he took inspiration.

On 9th September 1907, it’s estimated that some forty to fifty thousand people turned out to pay their respects and watch Edvard Grieg’s cortège pass through the streets of Bergen. It’s an image that speaks of the enormous affection and esteem in which Grieg was held at the time of his death.

Bergen was where Grieg was born in 1843, and in a speech he made 60 years later, he acknowledged that his music was drawn from the life of its people, the surroundings of the town and its natural beauty.

This week Donald Macleod’s exploring Grieg’s life through the contrasting environments he needed to find the inspiration to write music. Donald begins his survey in Bergen, before assessing the decade Grieg spent in Oslo, the solitude he found in the picturesque Hardanger region and in the house he had built in the mountains. But Grieg had another, contradictory side to his nature, he was also a restless spirit and a keen traveller.

Music Featured:

2 Elegiac Melodies, Op 34, (Varen) Piano concerto in A minor (3rd movt - Allegro moderato molto e marcato) 4 Psalms, Op 74 (Jesus Kristus er opfaren) 4 piano pieces, Op 1 (Allegro con leggerezza) String Quartet in G minor, Op 27 (3rd movt - Intermezzo) Holberg Suite, Op 40 Lyric pieces, Op 12 (Arietta) Sigurd Jorsalfar: Three orchestral pieces, Op 56 (Intermezzo: Borghild’s Dream) Piano Sonata in E minor, Op 7 (I. Allegro moderato) In Autumn, Op 11 Haugtussa, Op 67 Grieg, arr. J. Halvorsen: Folkelivsbilder, Op 19 (Bridal procession) Humoresque, Op 6, No 2 Album Leaves, Op 28 Norwegian Dances, Op 35 The Mountain Thrall, Op 32b Lyric Pieces Op 54: No 3 Trolltog; No 4 Notturno; No 6 Klokkeklang Fra Monte pincio Piano Concerto in A minor (2nd movt - Adagio) Violin Sonata No 3 (Allegro animato – Prestissimo) Peer Gynt Suite No 2, Op 55 6 songs, Op 25 No 2 (En Svane) Symphonic Dances op 64 No 4 (Andante) Lyric pieces, Op 71 (Remembrances) Melodies of the Heart, Op 5 (No 1,To brune Ojne; No 3, Jeg elsker Dig) Ballade in G minor (in the form of variations on a Norwegian folktune), Op 24 Cello Sonata in A minor Op 36 (Allegro molto e marcato) Slåtter, Op 72: (Nos 1- 4)

Presented by Donald MacLeod Produced by Johannah Smith for BBC Wales

For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qlk0

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z