Edvard Grieg is one of
Norway's most popular and
famous
composers. He was born in
Bergen,
June 15, 1843, and grew up in with his
wealthy
merchant family.
He displayed an unusually strong interest
for music very early,
and could sit in front of the
piano for hours, to
explore
chords and
harmonies.
In August 1861 he held his first concert in
the swedish town Karlshamn. A year later he
played for the first time in his home town.
(Curious fact: The composition he played
that night has disappeared forever.)
Through the years, Grieg wrote
an amazing number of compositions, for orchestra,
piano and string quartets, and all of his
work was inspired by Norwegian folklore and
tradition. His undisputably most famous
piece was the incidental music for the play
Peer Gynt (written by Henrik Ibsen), from which
the magical "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is taken.
In 1907, Grieg got seriously ill, and on
September 4 that year, he died from exhaustion.
More than 40,000 people crowded the streets
of Bergen on the day of his funeral.