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Donald Macleod considers the pivotal role the Hardanger region played in Grieg's creative process, with music including his opus 54 Lyric pieces and Norwegian Dances, Op 35.

On 9th September 1907, it’s estimated that some forty to fifty thousand people turned out to pay their respects and watch Edvard Grieg’s cortège pass through the streets of Bergen. It’s an image that speaks of the enormous affection and esteem in which Grieg was held at the time of his death.
Bergen was where Grieg was born in 1843, and in a speech he made 60 years later, he acknowledged that his music was drawn from the life of its people, the surroundings of the town and its natural beauty. His birthplace is one of several locations which provided Grieg with professional opportunity and creative nourishment. This week Donald Macleod is exploring Grieg’s life through the contrasting environments he needed to find the inspiration to write music. Donald begins his survey in Bergen, before assessing the decade Grieg spent in Oslo, the solitude he found in the picturesque Hardanger region. But Grieg had another, contradictory side to his nature, he was also a restless spirit and a keen traveller.

In 1877 Edvard Grieg and his young wife Nina travelled to a place on the Hardanger fjord. Grieg was immediately struck by the peace and beauty of the landscape and it became a haven to which he would return over many years.

Grieg, arr. J. Halvorsen: Bridal procession (Folkelivsbilder, Op 19 )
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor

Humoresque, Op 6 no 2
Edvard Grieg,piano

Album Leaves, Op 28
Håkon Austbø, piano

Norwegian Dances, Op 35
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra
Parvo Järvi, conductor

The Mountain Thrall, Op 32b
Håkan Hagegård
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

Lyric Pieces Op 54 (No 3 - Trolltog; No 4 - Notturno; No 6 - Klokkeklang)
Stephen Hough, piano