b'Program NotescontinuedEdvard Grieg Born June 15, 1843 Bergen, NorwayDied September 4, 1907 Bergen, NorwayHolberg Suite, Op. 40Composed 1884to mark the 200th anniversary of playwrightLudvig Holbergs birth Instrumentation StringsDuration 16 minutesEdvard Grieg embraced the cause of articulating a Norwegian national music as his lifes work. He grew up in Bergen and studied in Leipzig and Copenhagen before returning home to Norway. Throughout his life, he moved back and forth between enjoying the simplicity of his life in Norway surrounded by its exquisite natural beauty, and his restless desire to participate in musical life on the continent. He toured frequently in Europe, where he performed his own works as a pianist and conductor and interacted with many of his contemporaries, including Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Clara Schumann, and Brahms.Grieg composed the Holberg Suite in 1884 as part of a festival celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Norwegian-Danish playwright Ludvig Holberg. Originally written for piano, he arranged the suite for string orchestra soon after. The work was warmly received at its premiere, and it has remained one of Griegs most popular works. In a nod to Holbergs Time (1684-1754), the piece has the form of a French Baroque dance suite, beginning with a Prelude followed by a Sarabande, Gavotte, Air, and Rigaudon. In addition to the basic rhythms of the dances, Grieg uses other features of baroque composition, including ABA form, regular phrase structure, contrasting solo and tutti parts, and a rustic Musette section of the Gavotte with its typical drone. But this work is not simply an imitation of an earlier style. Grieg produces a neoclassical mashup of Baroque and Romantic styles, infusing the dances with rich sentimentality, playfulness, and virtuosity. Each movement is a small gem establishing a distinctive character and atmosphere, then altering quickly and naturally from exuberant romp to plaintive questioning or from tender intimacy to ecstatic outpouring. The fourth movement Air, marked Andante religioso, is the heart of the piece, with its introspective mood and throbbing intensity.princetonsymphony.org/ 16'