"Norway in Music" - this is how critics succinctly and succinctly characterize the works of the composer Edvard Grieg. His creative heritage includes over 600 tunes. The most recognizable is In the Cave of the Mountain King. The composition has gone through many adaptations and is often used as a soundtrack for films and advertisements.
Biography: early years
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born on June 15, 1843 in Bergen, in western Norway. His father was a diplomat and his mother was a pianist. Thanks to her, music was often played in the house. The mother of the future composer was considered the best pianist in Bergen. It was she who from an early age introduced Edward to music and noticed his talent as a composer. Mother loved to play songs and dances she heard from the peasants. Edward was very fond of folk music. He often went downstairs at night, secretly from his father and mother, and began to play the melodies he liked on the piano, as well as improvise.
At the age of 12, Grieg wrote his first composition, which he called "Variations for Piano on a German Theme." Soon their house was visited by the famous Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, a former student of Paganini himself. Hearing Edward play the piano, he predicted a brilliant musical future for him.
It was Ole Bull who persuaded his parents to send Edward to the Leipzig Conservatory, which was founded by Felix Mendelssohn and was famous throughout Europe. Grieg was then 15 years old. Within the walls of the conservatory, he studied the intricacies of playing the piano for four years.
Creation
Returning to Bergen, Grieg was amazed at the beauty of his country, which he now looked at with different eyes. He was inspired by the harsh Norwegian nature and local peasants. Grieg began to take an interest in the culture and life of the common people. He expressed his impressions in music.
The first concert of Edward Grieg took place in his native Bergen. He included in the program not only works by famous composers, but also his own. The audience enthusiastically accepted Grieg's concert, which inspired him to write new compositions. Even then, Evard liked to repeat that just as there is no people without art, so art cannot exist without people.
In small Bergen, Grieg had nowhere to turn around, since the musical culture there was poorly developed. In 1863, Edward went to Denmark, where in Copenhagen he underwent an internship with the founder of the Scandinavian school of music - composer Niels Gade. There he also met the famous storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. His poems inspired Grieg to write several romances.
In the same year, Edward composed Poetic Pictures. These are six pieces for piano, in which national features were first manifested. The rhythm underlying the third piece is often found in Norwegian folk music and becomes characteristic of many of Grieg's later melodies.
In Copenhagen, Edward became close to a group of like-minded people who dreamed of creating a new national art. In 1864, in collaboration with several Danish musicians, he founded the Euterpe Musical Society. Its main goal is to acquaint the public with the melodies of Scandinavian composers. Grieg acted in this society as a conductor, pianist and author.
During his three years in Copenhagen, he wrote several works, including:
- Six Poems;
- The First Symphony;
- "Humoresques";
- The First Violin Sonata;
- "Autumn";
- "Sonata for Piano".
Grieg launched an extensive concert activity. He performed not only in Copenhagen and Bergen, but also in Oslo and Leipzig. The people attended his concerts with pleasure and gave a standing ovation. However, experts had a different opinion. Thus, a number of critics considered Grieg's melodies "pathetic and insignificant". This drove the composer into despondency. He stopped giving concerts and was already completely desperate when one day he received a letter from Rome with words of delight from Franz Liszt. By that time, he had already written the legendary "Hungarian Rhapsodies" and won worldwide fame. After the letter, the Norwegian perked up.
Soon Edward went to Rome to visit Liszt. He wanted to play his own compositions for him personally. After listening to Grieg's melodies live, List noted that they exude the wild and heady spirit of the northern forests. His support became the most important event in Edward's life.
Returning home, he began to look for a quiet secluded corner where he could live and make music. Grieg did not find anything suitable and began to build a house according to his design in the wilderness, not far from Bergen. A stone structure was erected with a turret on the roof and stained-glass windows in the windows. The composer's new dwelling was framed by pines and jasmine thickets. Grieg himself called his house "Trollhaugen", which means "Troll Hill". Within its walls were created imperishable works that made the composer famous. So, it was written there:
- "In the cave of the mountain king";
- "Morning";
- "Dance of Anitra";
- " Song of Solveig ".
Edvard Grieg died on September 4, 1907. Thousands of Norwegians accompanied him on his last journey. Grieg's death was perceived as national mourning. According to the will, the composer's ashes were buried in a rock above the fjord near his house. Later, a memorial house-museum was founded here.
Personal life
Edvard Grieg was married to Nina Hagerup. He met her in Copenhagen. It was to his wife that he dedicated the famous "Song of Love", written on the verses of Hans Christian Andersen. There were no children in the marriage.
