Norway Grig. Scores do not burn - edvard grieg

Edvard Grieg was born on June 15, 1843, he became the fourth child in a large friendly family. His parents were good musicians. Edward was six years old when his mother decided to teach him music. But, despite the fact that music occupied an increasing place in the boy's life, he still did not dream of becoming a professional musician. It seemed to him unattainable. Everything changed completely unexpectedly. One summer morning in 1858, a rider on an Arabian horse galloped up to the dacha of Consul Grieg. It was the famous Ole Bull, violinist and composer, who came to visit his old friend.

At this time, Bull had already won world fame. He gave concerts in Europe and America, played his own arrangements of Norwegian folk songs and dancing, introduced the whole world to the art of his native country. Having learned that Grieg's son loves music very much and even tries to compose, the violinist immediately seated the boy at the piano.

The result of the audition was completely unexpected for both Edward and his parents. When Grieg finished playing, Ole Bull came up to him, gently patted his cheek and said: "You must go to Leipzig and become a musician."

On one of the old streets of Leipzig, young Edward settled in a private boarding house ... Classes began. First successes, first disappointments. It's hard to say which was more. At that time, one of the best musicians that time. Ernst Wenzel became Edward's idol. Wenzel was an excellent teacher. He had a remarkable gift and experience in passing on his understanding of musical works to his students. Edward also studied with the famous pianist Ignaz Moscheles, who also taught Grieg a lot.

The young musician worked day and night, barely finding time to eat. Such activities turned out to be unbearable for Edward's naturally fragile body. In the spring of 1860, Grieg fell seriously ill. Health was undermined, and it turned out that a minor cold was enough to start severe pleurisy. I had to return to my homeland, to Bergen. Attentive treatment and caring care of relatives raised Edward, but the consequences of the disease remained. All his life, Grieg suffered from tuberculosis, and in recent years he breathed only part of one, the left lung: the right one was completely destroyed.

Parents really wanted Edward to stay in Bergen for the winter, rest, get better. His mother urged him to stay longer with her. But the young man was drawn to Leipzig. He missed Bergen. I wanted to do my favorite art again, meet fellow musicians, dig into the scores ... By the beginning of classes, he returned to Leipzig.

In 1862 Grieg graduated from the conservatory. On the final exam he played his miniatures. The act concert was held at the Gewandhaus, in a solemn atmosphere, and Grieg was very worried. But he passed the exam brilliantly. Both the public and professors liked his plays. They also praised the sensitive, subtle performance. Grieg received a diploma in composer and pianist. However, he himself treated his works very strictly, much more exactingly than others.

The years have ended young musician at the conservatory. Much has changed during this time, he has changed and grown. A composer's technique appeared, he mastered many of the skills necessary for a professional musician. While living here, for the first time he really encountered modern culture, With hectic life. After all, his native Bergen was, compared with Leipzig, a small provincial town. Now Grieg was returning to his homeland full of hope, lofty aspirations, ready to fight for culture, for the flowering of Scandinavian art. True, the paths to the intended goal were not yet clear to him, but Grieg believed in his own strength. The winter season of 1862-1863 delighted Bergen music lovers with a novelty: the first concert of works by Edvard Grieg took place.

The success was very big. The listeners were captivated by the sincerity, freshness, immediacy of the music of the young composer, his melodic gift. The inhabitants of Bergen could be proud of a talented musician.

Of great importance for Grieg was his acquaintance with the young talented Norwegian composer Rikard Nurdrok. It took place in the winter of 1864. Nurdrok was older than Grieg by only one year, but he already had fully formed views on art, on the duty of an artist-citizen. Nurdrok believed that there is no music "generally Scandinavian", that Danish, Norwegian, Swedish music are independent and each has its own distinctive national characteristics. According to Nurdrok, composers should first of all take care of the development of original national traits music of his people, and not to imitate German composers, even if they are as famous as Schumann and Mendelssohn...

The views of Nurdrok turned out to be extremely close to Grieg. Passionate speeches of the young patriot met in him a lively response and understanding. The young people quickly became friends. Grieg and Nurdrok wanted not only to write music, but also to promote it. To this end, they organized a musical society in Copenhagen, which was supposed to acquaint the public with the works of young composers from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. It was called the "Society of Euterpe" in honor of the muse - the patroness of music. As always, Grieg worked hard. But he managed to write only one work - the concert overture "Autumn", as he suddenly fell down with a fever. The disease was very difficult, and only careful care saved the young man.

Grieg dedicated one of the romances to his cousin Nina Hagerup. Nina lived in Copenhagen with her mother, the famous dramatic actress Werlig Hagerup. She inherited her stage talent from her mother. She had a wonderful voice, and she dreamed of the stage, of singing, of introducing talented compositions to the public. contemporary composers. Nina excellently performed Grieg's romances.

The young people loved each other, but Nina's mother did not want to hear about marriage. She wanted for her daughter a more respectable husband, and not an unknown composer. “He has nothing, and he writes music that no one wants to listen to,” she complained to her friend. Grieg had to prove to Nina's mother that she was wrong. In 1866 he came to Christiania and, above all, he decided to give a concert in order to acquire fame, a public investment. It was a real Norwegian concert. Both the public and the press were delighted.

"It good start gave me courage, faith in the future, ”Grig recalled. Soon the Philharmonic Society of Christiania invited Grieg to the post of conductor. There were also invitations to give lessons. Now the young musician could consider himself financially secure. Young people received consent to marriage. The wedding was celebrated on June 11, 1867.

The most wonderful time in the composer's life began - the flowering of talent, the onset of creative maturity. New compositions win public recognition. These are new romances, and the first notebook " Lyric plays", and a collection of Norwegian dances, which reflected Grieg's impressions of wandering around home country. Soon after his successful concert debut in the capital of Norway, Grieg enthusiastically took up social activities. With his active participation, on January 14, 1867, the opening of the Academy of Music, the first Norwegian musical educational institution, took place in Christiania. In 1871, together with the young Norwegian composer Johan Svensen, also a graduate of the Leipzig Conservatory, Grieg organized the Musical Society, which united performing musicians. Soon this society becomes the most important center of concert life not only in Christiania, but throughout Norway. After returning from Rome, Grieg wrote his first musical and dramatic work - "At the gates of the monastery" to the text of Bjornson. The composer dedicated it to Liszt. Following him, in the same 1871, the melodrama Bergliot appeared, also based on Bjornson's poem. The plot of her writer learned in one of the ancient Icelandic sagas.

Then Grieg's attention was again captured by the work of Bjornson, this time his drama "Sigurd Yursalfar", which tells about the events of the distant past of Norway. Grieg worked with inspiration on Sigurd. The music for the drama was completed in an unprecedentedly short time - in just eight days.

Despite the success of the play, it became clear to Grieg that the performance of his music drama theater turned out to be ineffective. In order for it to become known to the public, the composer made a suite, which included the best fragments from the music for the drama. Grieg dreamed of creating a national Norwegian opera. He wanted to write it in collaboration with Bjornson. However, this idea was never fully realized. In 1873, the poet sent Grieg the first three scenes of the future opera Olaf Trygvason. The subsequent scenes were not written by Bjornson. First he went abroad, then Grieg became interested in working on the music for Peer Gynt... Many years later, these three scenes were orchestrated and performed.

The most poetic pages of Grieg's work include his vocal lyrics. And it has a lot to do with the name of Bjornson. Wonderful romances "For good advice", "Princess", " secret love”, “First meeting” are written in his poems.

Many of Bjornson's works inspired the composer, his Norwegian friend. He always spoke of Grieg's writings with big love. “In his music, imbued with enchanting melancholy, reflecting the beauties of Norwegian nature, sometimes majestically wide and grandiose, sometimes gray, modest, wretched, but always incredibly charming for the soul of a northerner, there is something close to us, dear, immediately found in our the heart is a warm sympathetic response,” Tchaikovsky wrote about Grieg in his Autobiographical Description of a Journey Abroad in 1888.

In the summer of 1898 Grieg organized the first Norwegian music Festival. All Norwegian composers, all major musical figures took an ardent part in it. In Bergen, at the invitation of Grieg, an orchestra, famous at that time, arrived from Holland, conducted by the world famous conductor Willem Mengelberg.

Edvard Grieg - musical genius Norway Since ancient times, people have been drawn to the great - to art. Man liked to create for himself, to look with satisfaction at the fruits of his labors and to rejoice in the benefit and happiness brought to other people.

With each century of development of mankind and culture, the world was filled with new and new names of great composers and musicians, poets and prose writers. During the Middle Ages, art came to a real stagnation.

Religion and the church, with their ambitions and desire for power, did not allow the free soul of a person to unfold in all its glory. But old days Gone are the old principles and concepts. They came to replace new era- the Renaissance, which gave rise to many currents in art, living to this day.

Europe of the era of romanticism is glorified by many great composers. Liszt, Chopin, Brahms and many others were romantic composers, they tried to express all the wealth through music inner world man, reveal the soul in their deep works.

One of these talents of romantic Europe was norwegian boy, preparing from childhood to devote his life to works later recognized as classics of romanticism.

Childhood

Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in Bergen, one of the largest cities in Norway, on June 15, 1843. Edward grew up in a wealthy family, whose roots come from the Scottish merchant Alexander Grieg. Grieg's grandfather played in the Bergen orchestra. The mother of the future composer studied piano and singing with Albert Metfessel.

The boy was taught music from childhood. Mother loved to play the works of Mozart and Chopin on the piano. Together with Edward, brother Edward and his three sisters were taught music. For the first time, Grieg tried playing the piano at the age of four. From the first time he was lured by the harmonious sound of the instrument, he became interested in music.

Edward writes his first piano piece at the age of twelve. Three years after graduation, the boy enters the Leipzig Conservatory, where he later writes 4 plays and 4 romances. The well-known Norwegian violinist, Ole Bull, insisted on his admission to the conservatory. However, the young musician was not very satisfied with his studies at the conservatory.

Edward criticized the excessive conservatism of teachers, scholasticism and a certain isolation of teachers from real life. But the professors considered him a genius, the owner of the highest musical talent, a student with his own special, thoughtful, manner of performance.

Creation

Grieg's work reflects elements of Norwegian folk and everyday music, skald songs, the sound and melody of shepherd's horns. A significant role in the composer's works was played by the influence Scandinavian mythology. Display images of trolls, gnomes, elves and others fairy tale characters can often be seen in the works of Grieg. The musician also pays great attention to the reproduction of images of nature.

In the works of Grieg there are a number of features characteristic of Norwegian folk melodics. Grace notes, mordents and trills in instrumental music. Often fresh at that time Dorian and Phrygian phrases are used, which served to enrich his harmonic techniques. In his work, Grieg based on the works of many eminent musicians of the eras of classicism and romanticism.

Mozart and Schumann and Brahms enjoyed great reverence with the composer. He respected each of them in his own way, in the works of each there was something that could hook Edward. In a warm and deeply cordial tone, he spoke of the works of Schumann. Grieg treated the piano with great respect, resorting to it throughout his life. For this instrument, he wrote about one hundred and fifty pieces. The plays were distinguished by special improvisation and impulsiveness.

AT piano music composer traced two directions. In the first direction, Edward tends to express his personal feelings, the music is imbued with a domestic intimate atmosphere and originality. The second direction mainly depicts the identity and culture of the people, folk song and dance music, reproduction of life common people and a vivid description of the nature of Norway.

famous works

• Piano Sonata in E minor (1865)
• Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano in F major (1865)
• "In Autumn" for piano four hands, also for orchestra (1866)
• Lyric Pieces, 10 collections, from 1866 to 1901
• Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano in G major (1867)
• Piano Concerto (1868)
• "Sigurd the Crusader", music for the play by Bjornstjerne Bjornson (1872)
• "Peer Gynt", music for the play by Henrik Ibsen (1875)
• String Quartet in G minor, (1877-1878)
• Norwegian Dances for piano four hands, also for orchestra (1881)
• Sonata for cello and piano (1882)
• Sonata No. 3 for violin and piano in C minor (1886-1887)
• Symphonic Dances (1898).

Personal life

After completing his studies at the conservatory, Edward leaves for Copenhagen, a city with a more developed musical art which gave the young composer a great perspective. There he meets his cousin, Nina Hagerup. Nina has grown beautiful girl with a pronounced talent for singing. Grieg fell in love with Nina and proposed to her on Christmas Day 1864.

The wedding took place in July 1867. Because of the marriage with his sister, the family begins to put pressure on the young family in every possible way. Unable to endure the pressure, the newlyweds moved to Christiania, the future Oslo. In the course of its life together Grigi went on tour different cities, presenting all new concerts. He organized the first of them in 1866 in the form of a report on the achievements of Norwegian composers.

In 1868, the family had a daughter, Alexandra. At the age of one, she contracted meningitis and passed away, which took a toll on Nina. The heartbroken mother withdrew into herself. However, the young family found the strength to endure grief with dignity and continue touring. In 1907, the composer was going to attend a music festival in England. Grieg and his wife stopped in Bergen waiting for the ship, but Edward gets worse and goes to the hospital. Edvard Grieg died on September 4, 1907, which was celebrated in Norway as national mourning.

• While studying at school, Edward brought with him music book with his own achievements, for which he was ridiculed by teachers who called it nonsense.
• In 1870 Grieg met Franz Liszt in Rome. The young composer showed Liszt his compositions, among which was a concerto in A minor. Liszt played the piano concerto and praised Grieg, calling the work superb.
• The king of Norway decided to award Edward with an order and invited him to the palace. When Grieg was awarded the order, he stuffed it into the back pocket of his tailcoat. Hearing this, the king was very offended by the musician.

Legacy and memory

During his short, by today's standards, but eventful life, Edward managed to meet many famous composers such as Franz Liszt and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Grieg wrote a great number of works for piano and orchestral performances, for which he was revered as a great musician and composer.

The work of Edvard Grieg is still revered and highly valued, as professional musicians and ordinary listeners. The Norwegians especially appreciate their great musician, quite deservedly considering him the pride of their nation. His home in Bergen, Trollenhaugen, has become a popular house museum. Near the house there is a statue of Grieg in real size.

But the most important thing is that until now his works can be heard not only in the Philharmonic and the concert hall, but also from TV speakers, in films and serials. People appreciate the music of unsurpassed classics, paying tribute to their memory, including their works in their own works. Edward made an invaluable contribution to the development of the world classical music as an art form. Thanks to his works, his followers and admirers, his name is forever inscribed in the history of world music.

The works of art preserve the peculiarities of the mentality, reflect the culture of the people, whose representative is the author of the masterpiece. The same applies to the art of music. The composer's work is influenced by the geography of the area, climate, life and life of people, folklore melodies, legends, legends. What is seen and heard is passed through the soul of a genius, and the world receives new symphonies, cantatas, plays, and other immortal creations.

Scandinavian music also has distinctive features. Composers of northern Europe, having studied the world musical heritage, created a unique rhythmic beat. One of the most famous Scandinavian composers is Edvard Grieg. Biography, summary the life and work of a genius are presented in this article.

Childhood

The future composer was born on June 15, 1943 in the provincial Norwegian town of Bergen. The boy's father Alexander Grig worked at the British Consulate, and his mother Gesina Grig (Hagerup) played the piano.

Little Edward studied music from the age of six. Mom was the first teacher. The child was found musical ability, but there was no talk of serious music lessons yet.

One day, a family friend, the well-known violinist and composer Ulle Bull, came to the Griegs. Hearing Edward's music, Bull advised his parents to send the guy to the Leipzig Conservatory. The musician already then understood what kind of fame Edvard Grieg would gain: the biography (a summary of which is presented in this article), as well as the works he created, years later will become the property of the whole world.

student body

Years of study brought not only joy, but also disappointment. Grieg took lessons from prominent music teachers Ernst Wentzel and Ignaz Moscheles. The musicians were happy to reveal the secrets of their skills to their students, but the requirements for young talents were high.

Like other students, Grieg rehearsed from morning to evening, interrupting only to eat. The loads turned out to be unbearable, and in 1860 the young man fell seriously ill. Due to illness, classes had to be interrupted and returned to his family. biography (summary) of which will subsequently be studied in music schools, would not have taken place as a composer, if not for the help of loved ones.

The fight against the disease was not easy, but thanks to careful care, the young man got to his feet. The parents wanted their son to stay at home, but the guy returned to Leipzig and continued his studies.

Upon completion of his studies, Edward received a diploma in pianist and composer. The graduate offered miniatures to the attention of the public and faculty own composition highly appreciated by both professionals and music lovers.

Music Society

After graduating from the conservatory, Edvard Grieg returned to his homeland. The young composer and pianist was interested in and he got excited about the idea of ​​creating original Scandinavian music.

With a group of like-minded people, Edward organizes a musical society whose members write, perform and promote their works. During this period, Grieg composes a piano sonata, a sonata for violin and piano, romances, an overture "Autumn" and "Humoresques".

The composer's talent is highly appreciated by his contemporaries. After some time, Edvard Grieg, whose biography (summary) includes personal relationships, becomes family man. Beloved wife Nina Hagerup takes part in concerts, performs her husband's romances.

The biography of Edvard Grieg (summary) would be incomplete without a description educational activities composer. Having moved to Oslo, Grieg begins to create a musical educational institution in Norway, Musical Society. The composer is supported by writers and other representatives of the intelligentsia. As a result of cooperation with B. Bjornson, musical dramas based on the Scandinavian epic Edda appeared. Also during this period, a piano concerto and lyric pieces were written.

World fame

Soon Edvard Grieg becomes famous outside of Scandinavia. F. Liszt played a big role in this. The state provided Grieg with a lifetime scholarship, which allowed the composer to return to native city and dedicate yourself to creativity.

Edward travels a lot, studies the life of Norwegian peasants, enjoys the beauties of nature. The impressions received are reflected in one of the most famous works - the Peer Gynt suite.

The peak of Edvard Grieg's fame is the 80s and 90s of the century before last. He is invited to perform in Denmark, Germany, Holland, England and other European countries. In 1889, Grieg became a member of the French Academy fine arts, and in 1893 - an honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge.

At home, the composer is engaged in social activities: he organizes a Norwegian music festival (which is still held today), is interested in the work of concert and choral societies, writes essays and articles about the work of his colleagues, and publishes collections of folk songs and dances. That was Edvard Grieg. short biography the composer is known not only to musicians, and the works created by Grieg replenished the fund of classical music.

During his lifetime, the composer was friends with P.I. Tchaikovsky, dreamed of going to Russia, giving concerts in England, but creative plans broken the disease. The composer died on September 4, 1907. Later, a memorial house-museum was opened at Villa Trollhaugen, where the last years of the genius passed.

Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843-1907) was a Norwegian musical figure and composer, conductor and pianist. Grieg has always been considered a national type composer, since a huge impact Norwegian folk culture. He created his works during the period of romanticism, wrote more than 600 romances and songs, violin sonatas, concertos for piano and orchestra. His most famous compositions are the suites for the drama Peer Gynt.

Childhood

Edvard Grieg was born in Bergen (the second largest city in Norway) on June 15, 1843.

On his paternal side, Edward had Scottish roots. Around 1770, his great-grandfather, the merchant Alexander Grieg, moved to Norway, for some time he even worked in Bergen as a British vice-consul. Then this position was inherited by Edward's grandfather, John Grieg, and after him, the composer's father Alexander.

There was a long and close relationship with music in the Grigov family. Grandfather, John Grieg, played in the city orchestra and was married to the daughter of the chief conductor.

Edward's mother, Gesina Grig ( maiden name Hagerup), came from a wealthy family, was a talented pianist. She learned to play the instrument from German composer Albert Methfessel. Before her marriage, she performed in London, and after becoming a wife and mother, she took up raising children and housekeeping.

The Grieg family was wealthy and cultured. As expected in such families, children began to learn music early. Edward is the fourth child of the five children of the Grigs, he also had a brother and three sisters. Their mother taught music, who loved to play music in free time playing the works of Weber, Mozart and Chopin at the piano. On weekends, she gathered musical evenings at home, so it is quite possible to say that children were surrounded by music from birth.

The first time Edward sat down at an instrument was when he was four years old. And already from the initial chords, the music conquered little boy beautiful harmonies and harmony. Among all five children, Edward showed a particular passion for music, he could sit for hours at the piano, independently sorting through various melodies. The parents decided that the child could play music as much as he wanted, because Edward was not the eldest son in the family, and he did not have to receive special education to continue family business(this was the lot of the elder brother).

Mom was engaged in music with Edward, and teachers were also hired. The boy was very disciplined, but he did not like cramming obligatory etudes, he wanted to improvise, look for new melodies and discover music for himself. Edward was only twelve years old when he wrote his first piano piece. The Grigov family was close friends with the violinist Ole Bull, he noticed that the boy had an extraordinary talent and advised his parents to send Edward to study in Leipzig, which at that time was the most important cultural center in Europe.

Education

The famous conservatory in Leipzig was founded by Mendelssohn. It is noteworthy that the conservatory began its work in the same year when Edvard Grieg was born. In 1858, a fifteen-year-old boy came to Leipzig and entered one of the best musical schools in Europe. He began studying piano and composition here.

However, soon his interests and tastes did not coincide with the first piano teacher Louis Plaidy. In addition, the guy was oppressed by conservatism and strict discipline at the conservatory. Edward asked to be transferred to another class with teacher Ernst Ferdinand Wenzel. And even more, the young man began to draw inspiration outside the walls of the educational institution. He went to rehearsals concert hall"Gewandhaus", where with inspiration I listened to the magnificent music of Schumann and Sebastian Bach, Chopin and Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner. Among all the composers, young Grieg was most fond of Schumann, he remained his favorite musician until the end of his life. And even in early works Edward, you can catch the notes of the influence of the great German Robert Schumann.

In 1860, Edward fell seriously ill and came to visit his parents. However, in the fall of the same year, despite the prohibitions of doctors, he decided to return to Leipzig and finish his studies at the conservatory. He even treated it educational institution dismissively, but graduated with honors in the spring of 1862. During his studies, Grieg composed four pieces for piano and several romances based on poems by German poets.

creative path

After graduating, Grieg returned to his native Bergen. However, in the city musical culture was so poorly developed that the talent of a young composer and musician had absolutely no conditions for development and improvement. In 1863, Edward decided to move to Copenhagen, at that time he was the center musical life Scandinavia.

Grieg stayed in Copenhagen for three years. Here he met with composers from Denmark Gade and Hartmann, and Norway - Rikard Nurdrok. They assisted him in the search for a creative identity and helped him move a little away from the strong influence of the German classics and Mendelssohn.

In the first year of his life in Copenhagen, Grieg wrote six piano pieces, they were released as opus 3 and were called "Poetic Pictures". In them, for the first time, Edward's music was accompanied by national motives.

In 1865, Grieg fell ill with tuberculosis, he had to leave Copenhagen, he went to Italy. In Rome, the composer recovered from his illness, but in his later life he did not differ in good health.

From Italy, Grieg went to Christiania (as the city of Oslo was called at that time). Here he organized a concert in 1866, as a result he was invited to the post of conductor in the philharmonic community.

The period of residence in Christiania was the happiest in Edward's life. He was with his beloved woman, his wife Nina, and the heyday of his work fell on the same period:

• 1867 - publication of the first notebook of "Lyric Pieces", the release of the Second Violin Sonata (critics found it much richer and more diverse than the First);
• 1868 - release of a piano concerto, several collections of songs and romances based on poems by Scandinavian poets;
• 1869 - "25 Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances" (it included peasant humorous, lyrical and labor songs);
• 1871 - founded the "Musical Association of Christiania" (now it is the Philharmonic Society in Oslo);
• 1872 - publication of the play "Sigurd the Crusader".

Since 1874, the composer Edvard Grieg was awarded a lifetime state scholarship by the Norwegian government. He also received royalties for his works and since that time has gained material independence.

In the same year, the famous Norwegian poet Henrik Ibsen invited Grieg to write music for his drama Peer Gynt. The composer worked on this overture with special inspiration, because he fanatically loved the works of Ibsen, and most of all of Peer Gynt. The overture was presented at the end of the winter of 1876, the play was a resounding success. From now on, Grieg's music was popular not only in Norway, but also entered the expanses of Europe. With his wife Nina, they made many concert trips, Grieg's works were printed by reputable German publishing houses.

Edward received wide recognition, besides, he was financially secure, so he decided to leave musical activity in the capital and return to his hometown of Bergen.

Personal life

While living in Copenhagen, Grieg met his cousin Nina Hagerup. She was two years younger than Edward, they grew up together in Bergen as children, and when Nina was eight years old, her family moved to Copenhagen. Grieg had not seen her since childhood, but at the meeting he fell in love. By this time, Nina had become an adult girl, she had a wonderful voice, which excited the young composer. And so much that he dedicated five songs to her in a row, one of which was called "I love you."

In 1864, at Christmas, Grieg made an offer to Nina to become his wife. The girl responded to her cousin in return, but relatives were skeptical about the prospect of the wedding of Nina and Edward. Nina's mother was "against" categorically, she convinced her daughter that Grieg - no one and nothing, creates music that they do not want to listen to.

But the young people decided not to listen to relatives, but to their hearts and got married in 1867. They did not invite relatives to the celebration.

In the spring of 1868, a girl was born to the Grigovs, she was given the name Alexandra. Edward was in seventh heaven and in a joyful outburst wrote a brilliant concerto in A minor for the piano. However, the happiness was short-lived. In 1869, the baby fell ill with meningitis and died.

The death of a girl put an end to happy life spouses. Nina withdrew into herself. But until the end of their lives, they remained partners in music, gave concerts and went on tour together.

There was a period when Nina became so distant from her husband that she decided to leave. Near three months Grieg lived alone. But then they reconciled with his wife, as a sign of this reconciliation, they decided to leave the city for the suburbs, where they built a wonderful villa.

last years of life

Dampness in Bergen caused an exacerbation of pleurisy, which Edward had been seriously ill while still studying at the conservatory. Doctors feared that tuberculosis could progress again on this basis.

In 1885 he moved to a country villa in the Bergen suburb of Trollhaugen. Despite the fact that the entire project of the villa belonged to the famous Norwegian architect, Grieg's second cousin, the composer himself took no less part in its creation. He even called the villa his the best work in life.

The building was built in the Victorian style, there was a spacious veranda and a tower from which the flag of Norway always fluttered when Grieg was at home. The windows were made large so that a lot of air and light could be let into the rooms. Not far from the house, Grieg built a small outbuilding and called it the "Composer's Hut". Here he retired and created beautiful musical works: ballad for piano, First string Quartet, songs dedicated to Norwegian nature.

Edward loved to be in the mountains for a long time, to be in the most rural wilderness among ordinary lumberjacks, peasants and fishermen. Here he was imbued with the spirit folk music. Grieg left this wonderful place only when he left with concerts. His performances were always expected both in his native Norway and abroad - in Poland, France, Holland, England, Hungary, Sweden, Germany.

In 1898, the first Norwegian music festival was held in Bergen, founded by Grieg. This tradition has survived to this day.

Despite the fact that the composer's health was deteriorating, concert activity he didn't stop.

In the spring of 1907, a big tour took place in the cities of Germany, Denmark and his native Norway. In the autumn of the same year, Grieg was going to visit the festival in England. Together with his wife, they arrived from their cozy villa in Bergen, where they stayed in a small hotel to wait for the ship to leave for London. Here, Edward became ill, he was admitted to the hospital, and the trip was canceled.

On September 4, 1907, the composer died. Grieg bequeathed to be buried in a rock above the fjord, not far from his beloved villa.

Nina Hagerup outlived her husband by 28 years. Her ashes are buried next to Edward in a mountain grave not far from their cozy and beloved Trollhaugen villa. A hundred years after the house of the Norwegian composer was built (in 1985), the Trollzalen concert hall was built not far from it. Near the entrance to the concert hall, a monument to Edvard Grieg was erected. About 300 classical music concerts are held here every year.

The Trollhaugen house, a working hut where the composer liked to retire and compose music, the estate and the surrounding area are now active open museum Edward Grieg.

Edvard Grieg was born on June 15, 1843 in Bergen. He brought glory to Norway. His work won the hearts of not only the inhabitants of this northern country but also music lovers all over the world. And she was present in the life of little Edward from birth.

Grieg's mother, a pianist who gives concerts in Bergen, became the first teacher musical notation for his son. From the age of six, the boy began to comprehend the basics of the world of music. Scales, keys, etudes, arpeggios, musical notations - all this has firmly entered his life.

The work of Mozart had a huge influence on the growing musician. Mozart had a phenomenal musical gift. His music brought true joy to the boy.

Edvard Grieg did not become the favorite of fortune from the first steps of his career. The beginning was difficult. His first works did not impress listeners. But we must pay tribute to the parents - they always supported Edward. At the age of 15, he became a student at the Leipzig Conservatory, which he successfully completed in 1862, receiving a red diploma.

Edvard Grieg moves to Copenhagen, where fate brings him together with the Norwegian composer Rikard Nurdrok (one of the authors national anthem Norway) and the Danish composer Niels Gade, who became both teachers and friends of the musician. Under their leadership, the compositional skills of the novice author are being improved. Subsequently, Edvard Grieg dedicated the first edition of his piano concerto to Nurdrok's memory.

The works of the famous Norwegian composer are known to all - this is the music for Ibsen's drama "Peer Gynt", piano concertos, notebook "Lyric Pieces", sonatas for violin and piano, song compositions to poems by Andersen, Bjornson, Ibsen, musical arrangement to the dramatic monologue "Bergliot", suites for string orchestra, variations on Norwegian folk melodies, romances, vocal miniatures, dance melodies and much more.

Grieg has many compositions that touch the human soul. it lyrical works"To Norway", "From the rocks and fjords", "I love you" and others.

The main feature of the great master's work is that he brought elements of the national color of the northern country into his music. All his work is closely intertwined with the life of the Norwegian people, their culture, customs, way of life, pictures dear to the heart. native nature. Folk Norwegian motifs, tunes, melodies of the native hinterland - this is the source that became the main source for the composer when creating original Norwegian music.

Edvard Grieg is a classic of Norwegian musical art. Thanks to his work, small Norway is on a par with the best musical powers in Europe.