Edvard Grieg is the most outstanding composer of Norway, who raised the music of his people to a world level. He drew inspiration from Norwegian folklore, the austere beauty of northern nature, and folk dances, creating music with a distinct national character.
His most famous works are the suites from the music to Ibsen's drama “Peer Gynt” (with the immortal “Morning Mood” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King”), the Piano Concerto in A minor — one of the most beloved in the repertoire — as well as numerous lyric piano pieces and songs. Grieg was a master of the miniature and of subtle, poetic lyricism. Like the Ukrainian national school of Lysenko, Grieg's work showed that a folk song tradition can become the foundation of high professional art of world significance.
