The final installment in Grieg's sets of Lyric Pieces comes very late in the composer's output in 1901, a time where illness kept him largely confined to his home, Troldhaugen, outside Bergen. In a September 1902 letter to American critic (and later, Grieg biographer) Henry T. Finck, Grieg writes:

"...if I told you that I was not composing anymore, this must not be taken literally. Last Christmas there appeared the tenth volume of Lyric Pieces. Soon all the ten parts will be published in a sumptuous volume by Peters."

With the printing of all ten sets together, Grieg seems to have been satisfied that he'd completed his work in this realm, and was probably glad to make a final break with the genre.

The tenth set of Lyric Pieces was published as Op. 71 and is dedicated to Mrs. Mien Röntgen, wife of the composer Julius Röntgen, dedicatee of the fifth set of Lyric Pieces, Op. 54. The opening "Der var engang" (Once Upon a Time) is in the form of a mini-tone poem. The outer sections are in the nature of a Swedish folk song, harmonized as a quiet chorale. The middle section is a lively Norwegian spring dance set in Grieg's best folk dance idiom, with bare fifths and subtle adjacent tones spelling out both accompaniment and rhythm. "Sommeraften" (Summer Evening) is a nocturnal reminiscence that bears resemblance to then-emerging trends in French music. "Småtrold" (Little Troll) returns to the musical terrain that Grieg famously explored in "March of the Trolls" from Op. 54. "Skovstilhed" (Still Woods) is likewise reflective; a quiet forest scene in a manner that recalls the music of Robert Schumann. The "Halling" that follows is one of the best known examples of this 2/4 Norwegian dance that Grieg composed. Here, as in "Summer evening," the French sound is alluded to, particularly in a remarkable passage where the C major dance rhythm is interrupted by an insistent D flat pedal tone. "Forbi" (Gone) is subtitled "In Memoriam," specifically to whom is apparently not a matter of record. However several of Grieg's closet confederates died in 1900 - 1901, including his publisher Max Abraham, composer and close friend J.P.E. Hartmann, Grieg's brother John, and his father-in-law Herman Hagerup. Clearly expressive of deep sorrow, "In Memoriam" is scored in E minor, and it is one of the most chromatic and harmonically unpredictable of all Grieg's works. In this piece the listener experiences a mood hinted at in several of Grieg's letters of this time: "It is as if this beautiful old word 'saga' acquires a new and deeper meaning for me as my own life belongs more and more to the past. Soon everything will be saga, saga!" "Efterklang" (Remembrances) is a wistful and simple waltz that paraphrases the melody of the Op. 12, No. 1 "Arietta," the first of the Lyric Pieces. With this Grieg brings his Lyric piano cycle full circle, and to its close.

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2.Sommeraften (Summer's Eve)

This is the second work in the tenth and last book of Grieg's Lyric Pieces, a set consisting of 66 pieces in all. Like so many works in the collection, this one is light and of gentle spirit. It contains elements of Impressionism, a style that Grieg had flirted with for at least the previous decade. His 1891 masterpiece Bellringing, from Book V of the Lyric Pieces, is absolutely Impressionistic, and for sheer brilliance of atmosphere can stand with many later Debussy pieces in the style. Summer's Eve here is a bit less adventurous, but nearly as imaginative in invoking a pastoral nocturnal sense. Grieg presents a playful, quirky main theme whose often reticent manner and subdued tone give way to sprinkles of notes that conjure images of gentle activity in a brook or pond. Much of the writing—particularly the harmonies—though always sounding from Grieg's pen, suggests Debussy and perhaps even Ravel, both of whom were still formulating their styles at this time. Summer's Eve is a lovely piece that will appeal both to partisans of the post-Romantic school and to those favoring Impressionism. This work typically has a duration of three minutes.

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3.Puck

This is the third piece in the tenth and final book of Grieg's series Lyric Pieces. The first volume appeared in 1867, 34 years before this final book, which houses seven works. This piece, Puck, falls into the fantasy category along with the famous March of the Trolls (No. 3, Book V), a work that displays a similar menacing, but also comical character. Puck is faster, however, sounding almost frenzied in its mischief, anxious in its impish vivacity. A driving rhythm is heard at the outset, overtop of which the main theme is played. It begins with frantic swirls that alternate with a sort of light and playful rhythmic stomping. Like much of Grieg's fantasy-like music in this series, there's a sense here of a chase going up and down the keyboard, not unlike the manner of the charming Elves' Dance (No. 4, Book I). Puck here may well have been intended as a counterpart to that early effort, just as the closing work in this final volume, Remembrances, was to the very first piece in the series, Arietta, whose theme it shares. In any event, Puck is a delightful work, having a duration of about a minute-and-a-half.

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7.Remembrances

This is a very special Grieg work, for it is the last of the 66 pieces in his famous series of piano works titled Lyric Pieces. The composer lived until 1907, but clearly intended to end his nearly career-long devotion to this project with this effort since he quotes from the first work in the series, the lovely Arietta, from Op. 12. In fact, he bases the entire piece on that work's theme. As it appeared in Arietta, the melody was songful and fresh, sweet and brimming with a youthful Romanticism. Here, Grieg fashions a wistful waltz from the melody, giving its music a vulnerable, somewhat dispirited sense. It is as if the composer, in declining health in 1901, is not only looking back fondly on his youth, but sadly on the life ahead. The flow of the music comes to a stop several times and hesitantly proceeds at others, as if running low on energy. But its inspiration is high, to be sure, Grieg turning his melancholy into sweet sounds, his nostalgia into meltingly touching lyricism. This lovely piece typically has a duration of just under three minutes.

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