Ballade, Op.24
Ballade · in G minor · Op. 24
Edvard Grieg 1843–1907
G minor
Key
Ballade
Form
Op. 24
Catalogue
Score
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Difficulty
Our estimate Virtuoso
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Themes & character
His greatest piano work·Variations on a folk tune·Written in grief·Composed 1876
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 24
- Key
- G minor
- Form
- Ballade
About the piece
A set of variations on a Norwegian folk melody, composed in 1875 and 1876 in the months after the deaths of both of Grieg's parents, and by common consent the finest and most serious thing he wrote for solo piano.
It is far removed from the charm of the Lyric Pieces: dark, structurally ambitious and emotionally raw. Grieg found the work so painful that he reportedly could not bring himself to perform it in public, and he is said to have played it only once for friends, breaking down in the process.
The composer
Edvard Grieg
1843–1907
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of Norwegian folk music in his own compositions brought the music of Norway to fame, as well as helping to develop a national identity, much as Jean Sibelius did in Finland and Bedřich Smetana in Bohemia.
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