Grieg

Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907) was a Norwegian nationalist and romantic composer. Grieg's music is often inspired by the folk music of Norway, and has a unique evocative character. 

Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway, of a Scottish father and Norwegian mother. He was inspired by the Norwegian violinist Ole Bull to join the Norwegian nationalist movement, after a solid European musical training at the Leipzig Conservatory in Germany.  There he heard Clara Schumann play Robert Schumann's fantastic A minor Piano Concerto.

Back in Norway, Grieg became increasingly involved in the nationalist movement, and he was an avid collector of Norwegian folk music. The style and evocative quality of these melodies is brought out in Grieg's own piano concerto, as well as the inspiration he received from Schumann's concerto. The sublime beauty of Grieg's piano concerto, combined with its impressively dramatic opening passage on the piano, has ensured that this is close to the top of the list of the most well-loved piano concertos of all time.

Grieg also wrote many songs, the Incidental Music to Peer Gynt,  a wonderful set of Lyric Pieces for the piano, and the Holberg Suite, which uses forms and elements of style from the baroque period.