Edvard Grieg: biography, personal life, creativity, photo

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The work of Edvard Grieg was formed under the influence of Norwegian folk culture. Real world fame brought him a piece of music for the production of "Peer Gynt", written at the request of Henrik Ibsen. Edvard Grieg's composition "In the Hall of the Mountain King" has become one of the recognizable classical melodies.

Origin

Edvard Grieg was born in the city of Bergen on the North Sea coast in a we althy and cultured family. His paternal great-grandfather, the Scottish merchant Alexander Grieg, moved to Bergen in the 1770s. For some time he acted as Vice-Consul of Great Britain in Norway. The grandfather of the outstanding composer inherited this position. John Grieg played in the local orchestra. He married the daughter of chief conductor N. Haslunn.

Alexander Grieg, father of Edvard Grieg, served as vice-consul in the third generation. The mother of the outstanding composer, Gesina, nee Hagerup, studied vocals and piano with Albert Metfessel, a court singer in Rudolstadt, performed in London, and constantly played music in Bergen, loved to perform worksChopin, Mozart and Weber.

Composer's childhood

In we althy families, it was customary from childhood to educate children at home. Edvard Grieg, his brother and three sisters got acquainted with the wonderful world of music under the strict guidance of their mother. He sat down at the piano for the first time at just four years old. Even then, Edward began to be interested in the beauty of consonances and melodies. The collection "Selected Articles and Letters" contains a touching short account of Grieg's first success in music.

Edward Grieg wrote his first work at the age of twelve. Three years after graduation, the famous violinist, "Norwegian Paganini" Ole Bull, advised the young man to continue making music. The boy really showed an extraordinary talent. So Edvard Grieg entered the conservatory in Leipzig - the city where Robert Schumann and Johann Sebastian Bach worked.

Studying at the conservatory

In 1858, Grieg entered the famous conservatory founded by Mendelssohn. The establishment has earned a good reputation. But Edvard Grieg was dissatisfied with his first teacher, Louis Plaidy. Grieg considered the teacher to be an incapable performer and a straightforward pedant, they strikingly differed in tastes and interests.

At his own request, Edvard Grieg was transferred under the leadership of Ernst Ferdinand Wenzel. The German composer studied philosophy in Leipzig, then studied piano with Friedrich Wieck, became close to Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. He came to teach at the conservatorypersonal invitation of Felix Mendelssohn. He remained in this post until the end of his life.

Edvard Grieg during his studies actively joined the work of contemporary composers. He often visited the Gewandhaus concert hall. This is the home ground of the orchestra of the same name. This concert hall, which had unique acoustics, once hosted the premieres of the most famous works by Schubert, Wagner, Brahms, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann and others.

From the composer's youth, Schumann remained his favorite musician. The early works of Edvard Grieg (especially the piano sonata) retained the characteristic features of Schumann's work. In the early works of Grieg, the influence of Mendelssohn and Schubert is clearly felt.

In 1862, the composer Edvard Grieg graduated from the Leipzig Conservatory with excellent marks. Professors said that he showed himself as a significant musical talent. The young man achieved particular success in the field of composition. He was also called an outstanding pianist with an amazing manner of performance.

Edward Grieg gave his first concert in Karlshamn, Sweden. The lively port town warmly welcomed the young composer. The composer good-naturedly described his early years, childhood and studies at the conservatory in the essay "My First Success".

Years later, Grieg recalled the time of study without pleasure. The teachers were out of touch with real life and conservative, using scholastic methods. However, about Moritz Hauptmann, a teacher of composition, Grieg said that he was the complete opposite.scholasticism.

Career start

After graduating from the conservatory, Edvard Grieg chose to work in his native Bergen. But his stay in his hometown did not last long. Talent could not be fully developed in the creative environment of Bergen. Then Grieg hastily left for the city of Copenhagen, which in those years was the center of cultural life throughout Scandinavia.

In 1863 Edvard Grieg wrote Poetic Pictures. The work of six pieces for piano is the composer's first music, in which national features appeared. The third piece is based on a rhythmic figure that is often found in the folk music of Norway. This figure will become characteristic of Grieg's work.

In Copenhagen, the composer became close to a group of like-minded people who were inspired by the idea of forming a new art. National motifs in European art in those years occupied more and more space. National literatures were actively created, now trends have come to music and fine arts.

One of Edvard Grieg's like-minded people was Rikard Nurdrok. The Norwegian was clearly aware of his goal as a fighter for national music. Grieg's aesthetic views became much stronger and finally took shape precisely in communication with Nurdrok. In alliance with several other creative people, they founded the Euterpe society. The goal was to introduce the public to the works of national composers.

For two years, Edvard Grieg acted as a pianist, conductor and author, wrote "Six Poems" onpoems by Chamisso, Heine and Uhland, the First Symphony, several romances to words by Andreas Munch, Hans Christian Andresen, Rasmus Winter. In the same years, the composer wrote the only piano sonata, the First Violin Sonata, “Humoresques” for piano.

More and more space in these works was occupied by Norwegian motifs. Grieg wrote that he suddenly realized the full depth and power of those perspectives about which he had no idea before. He understood the greatness of Norwegian folklore and his own vocation.

Marriage

In Copenhagen Edvard Grieg met Nina Hagerup. This girl is his cousin, with whom they grew up together in Bergen. Nina moved to Copenhagen with her family at the age of eight. During this time, she matured, became a singer with an amazing voice, which the novice composer really liked. At Christmas (1864), Edvard Grieg proposed to the girl, and in the summer of 1867 they got married.

In 1869, the couple had a daughter, Alexandra, who fell ill with meningitis at a young age and died. This tragic event put an end to the further happy life of the family. After the death of her first child, Nina withdrew into herself and fell into a severe depression. The couple continued to work together and went on tour together.

Flourishing activities

Due to an unconventional marriage, all relatives turned their backs on Grieg. The newlyweds immediately after the wedding moved to Oslo, and closer to the autumn of that year, the composer organized a concert. It included the first sonata for piano and violin, works by HalfdanKierulf, Nurdrok. After that, Edvard Grieg was invited to the post of conductor of the Christian Community.

It was in Oslo that Grieg's creative activity flourished. The first copybook of "Lyric Pieces" was shown to the public, and the following year several romances and songs by Christopher Janson, Jorgen Mu in collections, Andersen and other Scandinavian poets were published. Grieg's Second Sonata was rated by critics as much richer and more varied than the First.

Soon, Edvard Grieg began to rely on a collection of Norwegian folklore compiled by Ludwig Matthias Lindemann. The result was a cycle of twenty-five songs and dances for piano. The collection consisted of various lyrical, peasant, labor and comic songs.

In 1871, Grieg (together with Johan Svensen) founded the Christiania Music Association. Today it is the Oslo Philharmonic Society. They tried to instill in the public a love not only for the classics, but also for the works of contemporaries whose names were not yet heard in Norway (Liszt, Wagner, Schumann), as well as for the music of domestic authors.

In the desire to defend their views, the composers had to face difficulties. The cosmopolitan-minded big bourgeoisie did not appreciate such enlightenment, but among the progressive intelligentsia and supporters of national culture, Grieg found a response and support. Then a friendship began with Bjornstjerne Bjornson, a writer and public figure who had a great influence on the musician's creative views.

After the start of their collaboration, it waspublished several co-authored works, as well as the play "Sigurd the Crusader" in praise of the king of the twelfth century. In the early 1870s, Bjornson and Grieg thought about opera, but their creative plans did not come true because Norway did not have its own opera traditions. An attempt to create a work ended only with music for individual scenes. The Russian composer completed the sketches of his colleagues and wrote the children's opera Asgard.

At the end of 1868, Franz Liszt, who lived in Rome, got acquainted with his First Violin Sonata. The composer was amazed at how fresh the music was. He sent an enthusiastic letter to the author. This played a significant role in the creative biography and in general in the life of Edvard Grieg. The composer's moral support strengthened the ideological and artistic positions of the creative society.

Personal meeting with the composer took place in 1870. A generous and noble friend of everything talented in modern music, he warmly supported everyone who revealed the national principle in his work. Liszt openly admired Grieg's recently completed piano concerto. Telling his family about this meeting, Edvard Grieg mentioned that these words of a colleague are of great importance to him.

The Norwegian government awarded Grieg a lifetime state scholarship in 1872. Then he received an offer from Henrik Ibsen. As a result of the cooperation of the European playwright, the founder of the European "new drama" and the composer, the music for the work "Peer Gynt" appeared. Edvard Grieg was an admirer of many of Ibsen's works, and this music has become one of the mostfamous overtures from the entire legacy of the composer.

The overture premiered in 1876 in Oslo. The performance was a resounding success. Grieg's music became more and more famous in Europe, and in Norway his work gained immense popularity. The composer's works were published in authoritative publishing houses, the number of concert trips increased significantly. Recognition and material independence allowed Grieg to return to Bergen.

Major pieces

From the late seventies, Edvard Grieg was passionate about creating large works. He conceived a piano quintet and a piano trio, but only completed a string quintet on the theme of one of the earlier songs. In Bergen, he created "Dances" for piano four hands. The orchestral version of this work has become especially popular.

The songs released at that time became hymns to the native nature. The poetry of folk music was reflected in the best works of Edvard Grieg of those years, and in his letters there are detailed and surprisingly penetrating descriptions of nature. Over time, he began to systematically travel to Europe with concerts. Grieg presented his most talented works in Sweden, England, Germany, France, Holland. He did not give up concert activity until the end of his days.

Last years and death

Immediately after moving to Bergen, the composer's pleurisy worsened, which he got back at the conservatory. There was a fear that the disease could turn into tuberculosis. Grieg's he alth was also negatively affected by the fact that his wife moved away fromhim. In 1882, she left, the composer lived alone for three months, but then reconciled with Nina.

Since 1885, Trollhaugen, a villa built by order of Edvard Grieg near Bergen, has become the residence of the spouses. He lived in the countryside, interacted with peasants, lumberjacks and fishermen.

Despite a serious illness, Edvard Grieg continued his creative activity until the end of his life. On September 4, 1907, he died. The death of the composer in Norway became a day of national mourning. His ashes were buried in a rock near Villa Trollhaugen. Later, a museum was founded in the house.

Characteristic of creativity

Edvard Grieg's music absorbed the national features of Norwegian folklore, which was formed over the centuries. A huge role in his music was played by the reproduction of images of his native nature, characters from the legends of Norway. For example, the composition "In the Cave of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg is one of his most recognizable works. This is an amazing creation.

The composition premiered in 1876 in Oslo (this is part of the suite by Edvard Grieg). The cave of the king is associated with gnomes, a mysterious atmosphere, in general, the work sounds when the mountain king and his trolls enter the cave. This is one of the most recognizable (along with Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" and Carl Orff's "Fortune") classic themes, which has gone through dozens of adaptations.

The composition “In the Cave…” by Edvard Grieg begins with the main theme, which she wrote for double bass, cello and bassoon. Melody graduallyrises to a fifth, and then returns to the lower key again. The "Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg accelerates with each repetition, and at the end breaks down at a very fast pace.

Folklore characters before that seemed ugly and vicious, and the peasants - rude and cruel. In Denmark and Norway, Ibsen's play was received negatively, and Andersen even called the work meaningless. Thanks to the music of Edvard Grieg and Solveig (as an image), a rethinking of the play began. Later, the play "Peer Gynt" became world famous.

The composer represented nature very melodicly in his works. He watched the pristine forests, the changing parts of the day, the life of animals. Melody "Morning" by Edvard Grieg began to be used to illustrate certain scenes in cartoons by Warner Bros.

Grig's legacy

The work of Edvard Grieg today is especially actively revered in his native Norway. His works are actively performed by one of the most famous Norwegian musicians - Leif Ove Andsnes. The composer's pieces are used in cultural and artistic events. The villa, where the composer lived part of his life, has become a museum. Near the estate stands a statue of Grieg and his working hut.