Romantic Piano Meets the Hardanger Fiddle: Performance Traditions of Edvard Grieg’s Chamber Music

Edvard Grieg’s chamber and solo piano music includes some of the most important works of the 19th century repertoire for strings and piano. As intriguing amalgamations of Romantic lyricism, European pianism, and the traditions of Norwegian folk music, they raise practical issues of performance and interpretation, which cannot be addressed solely by reading the edited scores. The focus area of this workshop and seminar will explore the creative interchange of folk and art music in performance traditions from Grieg’s time to the present. The event will combine academic lectures, practical demonstrations, master classes, individual teaching sessions, discussion forums, and performances. The aim is to bring artists together with researchers who are specialists on the performance practice of Romantic art music and Norwegian folk music, so that the workshop-seminars provide an opportunity for sharing knowledge and experiences of still quite separated areas.

Invited guest scholars and performers:
Clive Brown (University of Leeds, UK)
Einar Steen-Nøkleberg (piano, Norway)
Rolf Erdahl (Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota, USA)
Håkon Asheim (Ole Bull Academy, Norway)

Participating staff from the Grieg Academy and Centre for Grieg Research:
Ricardo Odriozola (violin), Signe Bakke (piano), Torleif Torgersen (piano), Einar Røttingen (piano), John Ehde (cello), Arnulf Mattes (musicology).

The performance workshops will be open to a limited number of active participants. The final concerts will include the active participants and will take place at the Edvard Grieg Museum’s concert venues Troldsalen Chamber Music Hall and Grieg’s villa at Troldhaugen.