Description
Norwegian Classical FavouritesGrieg Halvorsen Sinding SvendsenAt the end of the nineteenth century almost all Norwegiancomposers had studied the German romantic style of composition in Leipzig.Some, like Christian Sinding, continued to compose within the German traditionwithout developing a personal, Norwegian style. Inspired, however, by the likesof Ole Bull, Halfdan Kjerulf, the collector of folk-music, Ludvig M. Lindeman,and the ever-enthusiastic Rikard Nordraak, many Norwegian composers began tolook for a specifically Norwegian style, a cultural reflection of the country'sindependence from Denmark, granted in 1814. Edvard Grieg's Morgenstemning (Morning mood) was composed asthe introduction to Act IV Scene 5 of Ibsen's Peer Gynt. The scene is not theNorwegian countryside but dawn on the coast of Morocco, indicated by Grieg'suse of a pentatonic theme. In the theatre version of I Dovregubbens Hall (Inthe Hall of the Mountain King) the little trolls chase after Peer, threateningto plague him. In the incidental music for Peer Gynt there are several such burlesquepassages that suggest a barbarism that was to appear later in European musicwith figures such as Stravinsky and Bartok. The two suites give a more lyricaland romantic impression. Bj?©rnstjerne Bj?©rnson thought that the lyrical Griegshould keep his hands off the play. Bernard Shaw is not alone in having beenirritated by Grieg's 'romanticization' of Ibsen's text. Grieg himself was awareof the problem. He characterized Peer Gynt as 'the most unmusical of allsubjects'.The first performance of Fr??hlingsrauschen (Rustle ofSpring) by the pianist Erika Nissen was not a great success. It is one of theSix Piano Pieces, Op.32, written by Christian Sinding in 1894-96. Ten yearslater it had become one of his most played piano pieces. It was particularlypopular in the United States, and was also performed at the NorwegianBroadcasting Corporation's first transmission in 1925, appearing too in severalfilms. Both Delius and Grieg were among Sinding's friends and advisors, thoughhe never chose to use Norwegian folk-music, being rooted in German romanticism.For a long time he was regarded as Grieg's heir, but his support for Nazismlost him this position in Norwegian musical life.Agathe Backer Gr?©ndahl studied in Berlin and later with Hansvon B??low in Florence and with Franz Liszt in Weimar. Her music is muchinfluenced by the German tradition. She was a close friend of Grieg and meantmuch to him. She was interested in folk-music but to a lesser degree than manyother people at the time. She wrote only two smaller pieces for orchestra, butwas a central figure in many areas of Norwegian musical life. The piano pieceSommervise (Summer Song) is taken from her collection Fantasistykker, Op.45,and conveys the mood is of a bright summer's day.The manuscript of Johann Svendsen's Bryllupet p?Ñ Dovre (TheWedding at Dovre), a piece long neglected,
