Grieg began receiving piano lessons from his mother from the age of six. He entered the Leipzig Conservatory in 1858 and studied under Schumann and Mendelssohn. Returning to Bergen in 1862, where he made a name for himself as a pianist. In 1863 he went to Copenhagen and met Gade and Nordraak and during 1864 he became one of the founders of the Copenhagen concert society, Euterpe. In 1866, he returned to Norway and settled in Christania (now Oslo), where he remained, apart from some travel to Italy, until 1874. He was granted an annual stipend by the Norwegian government in 1874. During his travels to Rome, he met Franz Liszt who was very impressed by Grieg's Piano Concerto, Opus 16 which he had written during his stay in Copenhagen in 1869. He was asked by Ibsen to compose the music for Peer Gynt, which he completed in 1876. Of all of Grieg's music, his Lyric Pieces are among the most enchanting. Between 1867 and 1901, he composed ten collections of these. His other famous works include the String Quartet in G Minor, Opus 27, the Holberg Suite, Opus 40, the Peer Gynt Suite, Opus 23, Slatter - Norwegian Peasant Dances, Opus 72 and Haugtussa, Opus 67. In 1885, built his famous home, Troldhaugen, near Bergen. |
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