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Edvard Grieg

1843 – 1907

Great-grandfather was of Scottish descent.

Began playing piano music by age of 6.
o Special recognition given for his performances of Mozart, Weber, and
Chopin’s works.

Met Ole Bull in 1858.
o Norwegian violinist and family to Grieg’s.
 Bull’s brother was married to Edvard’s aunt.
o At recommendation, studied composition in Leipzig.
 Training allowed him to create his own style that combined
homeland traditions with the heavily Germanic technique he
was taught.
 Taught techniques of Chopin, Wagner, Schumann, and
Mendelssohn.

Met Niels W. Gade in summer of 1863 while visiting home.
o Head of Scandinavian school of music, Danish composer.
 Always admired Gade for his compositions.
 Asked Grieg to compose symphony for him; only one
movement completed, but received warmly.

Met fellow Norwegian composer Rikard Nordraak in 1864.
o Composer of Norwegian National anthem.
 Became great inspiration as Grieg began composing
Nationalistic pieces.

Met Henrick Ibsen in 1866.
o Norwegian writer; already had a strong reputation from previous
writings such as Brand (1865).
 Success allowed him more freedom to write more surreal and
controversial settings like Peer Gynt.
o Grieg greed to compose incidental music for Peer Gynt in 1874.
 Grieg was drawn to Ibsen’s reputation and symphonic
structure of writing drama.
 Believed he only needed to add fragments to finish the already
prevalent musical poetry.
Peer Gynt Synopsis

Act I – Peer Gynt, a rough Norwegian peasant, hears that the beautiful Ingrid
is to be wed.

Showing up uninvited to the wedding, he decides to steal her away and takes
her to the mountain wilderness.
o Deserts her after a day.

After several encounters, Peer finds himself in the Hall of the Mountain King
where he is tortured by gnomes and sprites.

Narrowly escapes the crumbling hall, builds a hut in the forest.
o Joined by Solvejg, a tenderhearted girl who has been in love with Peer
for a long while.
 They are married, but Peer leaves quickly after the wedding to
visit his ailing mother.

His mother dies soon after seeing Peer home, causing him to wander the
world for more adventures.
o Goes among Arabs and feigns being a prophet.
o Daughter of Arab chief quickly robs him of all of his possessions.

In the last Act, after suffering from a shipwreck on the Norwegian coast, Peer
returns to the hut to find Solvejg faithfully awaiting his return.

He perishes in the hut shortly after returning as Solvejg sings “Solvejg’s
Cradle Song” to him.
Analysis of Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46

Movement I – “Morning Mood”
o Prelude to Act IV.
 Peer is in a dream-like state of wandering
 Winds up in Africa
 Wakes up to a musical picture of restful contentment and
complete happiness.
o Overall form: ABA’ with Coda
o A Section:
 Theme I traded (Example 1). Listen
 Use of chromatic mediant modulation.
o B Section:
 Theme II enters in strings.
 Use of chromatic mediant modulation (Example 2). Listen
o A’ Section:
 Recapitulation of A and B sections in winds.
 Cornet has Theme I, Woodwinds have Theme II
 Coda begins in m.68.

Movement II – “Aase’s Death”
o Peer returns home to find his mother dying.
o Complete Contrast
o Scored only for strings.
o Binary form: AB
 Same rhythmic motive for the main melody throughout the
piece. Listen
o A Section:
 Consists of short 4-measure phrases.
 Of interest: m.4 has a French aug 6th chord,
resolving with plagal motion.
o B Section:
 Comprised of 8 measures that are repeated an octave lower
(Example 3). Listen
 M.25 and m.29 both have Italian aug 6th chords.
 Mm 29-32: modulation from G major to b minor,
chromatic mediant
 mm. 39-40: borrowed chords in major/minor.

Movement III – “Anitra’s Dance”
o Represents daughter of Arab chief who steals all of Peer’s possessions
after he assumes the role of a prophet.
o Mazurka dance.
 Exotic feeling, accent on beat 3. Listen
 Triangle used in beginning aids in exotic feel
o Consists of sequencing parts of melodic line throughout the entire
movement (Example 4).
 Specifically in the violin part.
 Modulates from D major to d minor. (mm.52-65)
o Measure 70 – Half diminished seventh chord (Example 5). Listen
o Lagging melody created by points of imitation in Viola I adds humor to
Peer’s predicament (Example 5).

Movement IV – “In the Hall of the Mountain King”
o Most famous movement of the Suite much to the dismay of Grieg.
 Quoted in saying,
“I have also written something for the scene in the hall of
the mountain king – something that I literally can’t bear
listening to because it absolutely reeks of cow-pies,
exaggerated Norwegian nationalism, and trollish selfsatisfaction! But I have a hunch that the irony will be
discernible.”
o Gnomes and sprites torment Peer.
o Entire movement is a repetition of the four-measure motive.
 First presented in cello and bass (Example 6). Listen
 Trades from b minor to D major throughout entire
movement.
 Grows from pp-ff.
o Tonic prolongation during the entire coda section. Listen
 Last driving phrase creates dissonance until timpani
establishes b minor as closing key.
Example 1: Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, first movement, mm.1-4.
Example 2: Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, first movement, mm.34-38.
Example 3: Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, second movement, mm.22-36.
Example 4: Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, third movement, mm.10-18.
Example 5: Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, third movement, mm.68-75.
Example 6: Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, fourth movement, mm.1-6.
Compositional Style/Relation to Norwegian National Music

Considered harmony as the basis for music.
o Cosmopolitan Creed created in 1899
 Not published in professional journal or book, but many
records show of his reference to it.
 Considered a cultural code through which each individual
in a cultural area understands himself of herself and the
environment that surrounds them.
 “If the composition is national it is because the individual
is national and therefore no vice.”

Known for small forms within small pieces.
o No completed large scale symphonies.
 As a result, considered less influential than Germanic
composers.

Made sure he fully understood the compositional style of Norway before
attempting to compose Nationalistic works.
o Consulted ethnographic collections, visited regional festivals,
and commissioned colleagues to make transcriptions of
traditional folk tunes.
o When critiqued on manipulating folk tradition, he debated
fiercely that he sought to bridge the divide between international
style and community to Norwegian national identity.
o His transcriptions were considered projects of translation in his
eyes; in fact, he never claimed to do any more than look for
different ways to express the same topics folk tradition drew on.
o Use of Norwegian folk instruments; drew upon characteristics of the
instruments.
 Example: Hardanger fiddle slåtter
 Tied closely to traditional fiddle technique and
style.
 Dominated by old Norwegian forms such as halling
(wedding/celebration music), springer (running
dance music), and gangar (walking dance music).
 Use of small bar motifs varied over piece (“Morning Mood,” “In
the Hall of the Mountain King”).
o Strong element of wilderness and Norwegian Nationalism in Piano
Concerto Op. 16.
 Piano’s chimes following the timpani roll signify the
Creation.
 Opening themes built on descending seconds followed by
descending thirds; this melody becomes synonomous with
Grieg

Final movement inspired by Hardanger fiddle

To successfully achieve a Nationalistic piece, one must talk of familiar
ideals, hopes, and fears that the nation can identify with.
o Also needs support from nation

Common Norwegian compositional practices:
o Short phrase structures.
 Balanced, 2-4 measures (“Aase’s Death”).
o Modulation to chromatic mediants very common (Example).
o Borrowed major/minor harmonies.
o Grieg specifically known for many half diminished seventh chords
(Example).
Example 7: Grieg, Piano Concerto in A minor, first movement, mm.1-6.
Bibliography
Fink, Henry. Grieg and His Music. New York: Benjamin Blom, Incorporated, 1971.
Horton, John. “Ibsen, Grieg, and ‘Peer Gynt’,” Music & Letters 26, no. 2, (1945):6677.
Horton, John, and Nils Grinde. “Grieg, Edvard.” Grove Music Online.
Kleiberg, Ståle. “Grieg’s ‘Slåtter’, Op. 72: Change of Musical Style of New
Concept of Nationality?” Journal of the Royal Musical Association 121, no. 1,
(1996):46-57.
Toye, Francis. “A Case for Musical Nationalism.” The Musical Quarterly 4, no. 1,
(1918):12-22.