Random Poetry and Edvard Grieg

A Laughing Matter
The fire's dying embers crackle
A deed is to of been done
The dire memories shackle the day before
All in creed of the pun

It is safe to say all has settled
Except for the mind of the wight
The strafe of the cantle has been dismantled
Only by the silence of night

~Ainion Veron Elwes~

Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg was born in Norway on June 15, 1843 and is arguably considered to be the greatest Norwegian composer. Being taught by his mother, Edvard began to learn how to play piano at the age of 6. Throughout his childhood, Edvard went to many schools where he studied music. He often brought samples of his music to class.

Over his life, Edvard wrote many pieces, including several sonatas, suites and a single piano concerto. The Piano Concerto in A minor (Opus 16), was, next to his Peer Gynt suite, his most successful work. I personally have found much interest in the concerto being that it is a highly chordal piece. Instead of focusing on being "note-y," as Mozart's music has been accused of, Edvard built on chords, or as many musicians will call it "Horizontal Melody." This style of horizontal melody was very specific to "Romantic" music of the time, as it was breaking away from classical scales and baroque ornaments. Pyotr Tchaikovsky thought very highly of Grieg's music, praising it's beauty, originality and warmth.

~Josh A. Algode~