Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg

Holberg Suite.


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Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907) was a Norwegian classical composer and pianist who wrote many works based on Norwegian folk songs. He perhaps best known for his Peer Gynt Suites written for Ibsen's play of which Solviegs Song from that suite is by far and away my favourite music for the female voice. Here is Sissel Kyrkjebø singing it with the London Philharmonic.

Grieg is of course not a Norwegian name but he was born in Bergen and Edvards great-grandfather Alexander Greig (note the change of spelling), a victim of the Scottish Highland clearances, settled in Norway from whom he was descended.

The track below is the Sarabande from his Holberg Suite and is played by the National Pilharmonic Orchestra conducted by Willi Boskovsky. If this small excerpt from the suite has primed your appetite for more then here are the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra playing it all.

My favourite Grieg piano composition is his piano concerto and here it is played by Nikolai Lugansky with the Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko.

This concerto and the Schumann piano concerto tend to be grouped together as both are written in the same key of A minor and are the only ones that both composers finished. They are equally popular and the other can be found on my Schumann page..

Edvard Grieg's discography can be found here.


Holberg Suite. Sarabande.
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