Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 01/24/2006, uploaded on 01/17/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

In the Hall of the Mountain King, from Peer Gynt Suite                 Edvard Grieg                                                                             

Grieg was one of the greatest Norwegian composers.  He was a master at painting the people, the scenery, and the moods of Norway with notes. In the Peer Gynt Suite, Grieg captures the rising of the sun, the lamenting of a death, and, in The Hall of the Mountain King, the imagery of a chase scene. His works contain what today are readily recognizable "tunes" - as indeed they were in the composer's time.  As Grieg and his wife, Nina, strolled through the streets of Bergen, children would follow after, whistling these tunes, in tribute to the great composer. The fine Russian pianist, Grigory Guinsbourg (1904-1961), known as a painter of sounds on piano, made this wonderful arrangement of the piece for piano.     Hayk Arsenyan

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.