Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) is undoubtedly the best-known Norwegian composer. He was born in Bergen and from the age of six received piano lessons from his mother, and later studied at the Leipzig Conservatory. While visiting Copenhagen he met Rikard Nordraak, who introduced him to the folk music of Norway. From 1866 to 1876 Grieg lived in Oslo (then called Christiania), where he taught music and became a conductor. Grieg was also a highly revered pianist, and frequently appeared as a soloist and accompanist in his own works. His sizeable canon of piano works is comparable in importance to his songs, although he only completed one piano concerto. From the same period as the Norwegian Melodies EG 108, Grieg completed perhaps his most significant solo piano work, the Ballade in G minor Op. 24, in 1876.

In 1874 Grieg was commissioned by a Danish publisher to arrange several Norwegian songs for a collection of moderately difficult piano miniatures. Although Grieg was initially skeptical of the project's artistic merits, the lucrative offer eventually won him over. The collection was originally published anonymously, but critics soon discerned the author. Grieg was immediately criticized for the collection, but defended it by saying that it served the purposes of the general music public for whom it was intended. The Norwegian Melodies typify Grieg's extensive use of Norwegian folk music as found throughout his career. The Norwegian Melodies was completed in 1875 in Copenhagen and consists of 152 miniatures. Grieg reworked the material to make it idiomatic for the piano, increased the harmonic scope, and devised new formal plans. The collection was immediately popular and provided many Norwegians with their first exposure to their national music.











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