Lyric Pieces is a collection of 66 short pieces for solo piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 written by Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg

Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...

. They were published in 10 volumes, from 1867 (op

Opus number

An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...

. 12) to 1901 (op. 71). The collection includes several of his best known pieces, such as Wedding Day At Troldhaugen (Bryllupsdag på Troldhaugen), To Spring (Til våren), March of the Trolls (Trolltog), and Butterfly (Sommerfugl).

The theme of the first piece in the set, Arietta, was one of the composer's favorite melodies. He used it to complete the cycle in his very last lyric piece, Remembrances (Efterklang) — this time as a humorous waltz

Waltz

The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...

.

In 2002, Norwegian pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 Leif Ove Andsnes

Leif Ove Andsnes

Leif Ove Andsnes is a Norwegian pianist and an ardent champion of the works of Edvard Grieg.-Biography:He studied with Jiří Hlinka at the Bergen Music Conservatory and made his debut in Oslo in 1987, in Britain at the Edinburgh Festival with the Oslo Philharmonic in 1989, and in the United States...

 recorded a CD with 24 of the lyric pieces on Grieg's own 1892 Steinway

Steinway & Sons

Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...

 grand piano at Troldhaugen

Troldhaugen

Troldhaugen was the home of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg and his wife Nina Grieg. Troldhaugen is located in Bergen, Norway and consists of the Edvard Grieg Museum, Grieg’s villa, the hut where he composed music, and his and his wife's gravesite....

, the composer's residence. Among other notable pianists to make recordings of the collection are Walter Gieseking

Walter Gieseking

Walter Wilhelm Gieseking was a French-born German pianist and composer.-Biography:Born in Lyon, France, the son of a German doctor and lepidopterist, Gieseking first started playing the piano at the age of four, but without formal instruction...

, Sviatoslav Richter

Sviatoslav Richter

Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter was a Soviet pianist well known for the depth of his interpretations, virtuoso technique, and vast repertoire. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Childhood:...

, Emil Gilels

Emil Gilels

Emil Grigoryevich Gilels was a Soviet pianist, widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.His last name is sometimes transliterated Hilels.-Biography:...

, Eva Knardahl

Eva Knardahl

Eva Knardahl Freiwald was a Norwegian pianist, with a noted career both as a child prodigy and adult performer....

, Andrei Gavrilov

Andrei Gavrilov

Andrei Vladimirovich Gavrilov is a Russian pianist.- Life :Gavrilov was born into a multinational family of artists in Moscow. His father was Vladimir Gavrilov , one of the leading Russian painters of the middle of the 20th century, through whom Gavrilov also has German ancestors...

, Håkon Austbø

Håkon Austbø

Håkon Austbø is a Norwegian classical pianist, born in Kongsberg. He is also a professor at the Amsterdam conservatory....

, Einar Steen-Noekleberg, and Gerhard Oppitz

Gerhard Oppitz

Gerhard Oppitz is a German classical pianist.He studied with Paul Buck, Hugo Steurer and Wilhelm Kempff. In 1981 he was appointed professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München - the youngest in the history of the institute - where he still teaches. As a soloist he has appeared with...

. A few recordings and piano rolls of Grieg himself performing also exist, and they have been published by the Norwegian record label Simax.

Complete Listing

Op. 12 (composed 1866-7?; published 1867):

• No. 1, Arietta
• No. 2, Vals (Waltz)
• No. 3, Vektersang (Watchman's song, after Macbeth
  Macbeth
  The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
  
  )
• No. 4, Alfedans (Elves' dance)
• No. 5, Folkevise (Popular melody)
• No. 6, Norsk (Norwegian melody)
• No. 7, Albumblad (Albumleaf)
• No. 8, Fedrelandssang (National song)

Op. 38 (composed 1883 except where noted; published 1883):

• No. 1, Berceuse
• No. 2, Folkevise (Folk-song)
• No. 3, Melodi (Melody)
• No. 4, Halling (Dance)
• No. 5, Springdans (Spring dance)
• No. 6, Elegi (Elegy)
• No. 7, Vals (Waltz, originally composed 1866; revised 1883)
• No. 8, Kanon (Canon, composed ca. 1877-8?; revised 1883)

Op. 43 (composed probably 1886; published 1886):

• No. 1, Sommerfugl (Butterfly)
• No. 2, Ensom vandrer (Solitary traveller)
• No. 3, I hjemmet (In my homeland)
• No. 4, Liten fugl (Little bird)
• No. 5, Erotikk (Erotikon)
• No. 6, Til våren (To spring)

Op. 47 (composed 1886-8 except where noted; published 1888):

• No. 1, Valse-Impromptu
• No. 2, Albumblad (Albumleaf)
• No. 3, Melodi (Melody)
• No. 4, Halling
• No. 5, Melankoli (Melancholy)
• No. 6, Springtanz (Spring dance, composed 1872?; revised 1888)
• No. 7, Elegi (Elegy)

Op. 54 (composed 1889-91; published 1891):

• No. 1, Gjetergutt (Shepherd's boy)
• No. 2, Gangar (Norwegian march)
• No. 3, Trolltog (March of the Trolls)
• No. 4, Notturno http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJUdgmVoobA
• No. 5, Scherzo
• No. 6, Klokkeklang (Bell ringing)

Op. 57 (composed 1890?-3; published 1893):

• No. 1, Svundne dager (Vanished days)
• No. 2, Gade
• No. 3, Illusjon (Illusion)
• No. 4, Geheimniss (Secret)
• No. 5, Sie tanzt (She dances)
• No. 6, Heimweh (Homesickness)

Op. 62 (composed 1893?-5; published 1895):

• No. 1, Sylfide (Sylph)
• No. 2, Takk (Gratitude)
• No. 3, Fransk serenade (French serenade)
• No. 4, Bekken (Brooklet)
• No. 5, Drømmesyn (Vision)
• No. 6, Hjemad (Homeward)

Op. 65 (composed 1896; published 1897):

• No. 1, Fra ungdomsdagene (From early years)
• No. 2, Bondens sang (Peasant's song)
• No. 3, Tungsinn (Melancholy)
• No. 4, Salong (Salon)
• No. 5, I balladetone (Ballad)
• No. 6, Bryllupsdag på Troldhaugen (Wedding day at Troldhaugen)

Op. 68 (composed 1898-9; published 1899):

• No. 1, Matrosenes oppsang (Sailor's song)
• No. 2, Bestemors menuet (Grandmother's minuet)
• No. 3, For dine føtter (At your feet)
• No. 4, Aften på højfjellet (Evening in the mountains)
• No. 5, Bådnlåt (At the cradle)
• No. 6, Valse mélancolique (Melancholy waltz)

Op. 71 (composed and published 1901):

• No. 1, Det var engang (Once upon a time)
• No. 2, Sommeraften (Summer's eve)
• No. 3, Småtroll (Puck)
• No. 4, Skogstillhet (Peace in the woods)
• No. 5, Halling
• No. 6, Forbi (Gone)
• No. 7, Etterklang (Remembrances)

External links