{"id":47171,"date":"2024-09-12T10:37:41","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T08:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2589c105-ac07-40c2-ac08-1698395dd4fd"},"modified":"2024-09-12T11:07:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T09:07:18","slug":"on-this-day-in-history-composer-edvard-grieg-takes-an-ethical-stand-and-receives-death-threats","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/on-this-day-in-history-composer-edvard-grieg-takes-an-ethical-stand-and-receives-death-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"On This Day in history: composer Edvard Grieg takes an ethical stand – and receives death threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 12 September 2024 at 08:37 AM<\/p>

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In 12 September 1899, Edvard Grieg<\/a> did something few composers or performers ever do \u2013 turn down a lucrative, high-profile booking with a leading orchestra. <\/strong><\/p>

The invitation to guest-conduct a concert of his own works with the Colonne Orchestra in Paris, where Grieg had appeared three times previously, would normally have been highly appealing. But the tone of the Norwegian composer\u2019s reply to \u00c9douard Colonne, the concert\u2019s organiser, was unexpectedly sharp.<\/p>

Best of Grieg: five essential works<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>
\u2018I cannot in all conscience travel to Paris,\u2019 he wrote. \u2018Like any other individual who is not a member of the French nation, I am shocked by the disgusting manner in which your compatriots treat both the law and justice, and my disgust is so great that I have no desire to appear before a French audience.\u2019 What had so piqued Grieg\u2019s ire that he found himself unable to accept Colonne\u2019s prestigious invitation?<\/p>
\u2018I cannot in all conscience travel to Paris’: Edvard Grieg took a firm stand in 1899. Pic: Estate of Emil Bieber\/Klaus Niermann\/Getty Images – Estate of Emil Bieber\/Klaus Niermann\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
What was the Dreyfus affair?<\/h2>
The answer lies in an event which happened three days earlier, when the French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was found guilty of treason for a second time \u2013 at his first court-martial four years previously, he was convicted for allegedly passing intelligence documents to the Germans. <\/p>
Grieg was not alone in finding the case against Dreyfus hopelessly unconvincing. Outraged, the novelist \u00c9mile Zola penned \u2018J\u2019accuse\u2019, an open letter accusing the military authorities of corruption and distorting evidence. Public opinion swayed in Dreyfus\u2019s favour, although a virulent strain of anti-Semitism was also evident, not least among the military establishment.<\/p>
$\"Dreyfus$
An anti-Dreyfus cartoon. Pic: Keystone-France\/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images – Keystone-France\/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Hate mail and death threats rained in Grieg\u2019s direction<\/h2>
Grieg\u2019s gesture of solidarity with Dreyfus might easily have gone virtually unnoticed had he not authorised the publication of his letter to Colonne in a Frankfurt newspaper. <\/p>
There, the words of the eminent Norwegian composer stirred both approval from the pro-Dreyfus factions and bitter opposition from those who supported the treason verdict. Hate mail, including death threats, rained in Grieg\u2019s direction, and his controversial letter led to splits with friends and a string of cancelled concert engagements.<\/p>
Colonne himself was none too pleased that Grieg\u2019s letter had been published and that his orchestra had been associated with the ongoing Dreyfus furore. But he admired Grieg\u2019s music immensely and, three years later, invited him back to Paris to perform it. Grieg wanted to accept, but worried about the ongoing vitriol his Dreyfus stance was attracting. Colonne was reassuring. \u2018The storm has passed,\u2019 he commented.<\/p>
When he did eventually get to Paris, Grieg needed a police escort<\/h2>
Unfortunately it hadn\u2019t, as Grieg discovered when he arrived in Paris for his concert in April 1903. Dreyfus was by then a free man, having accepted a presidential pardon a week after his second trial. But memories of \u2018l\u2019affaire Dreyfus\u2019 were still raw in the French capital, with controversies around it continuing to rage. A police escort was needed for Grieg and his wife to make the carriage ride from their hotel to the concert venue, where a milling crowd provided a mainly warm welcome.<\/p>
Boos and catcalls could be heard, however, as the composer came on stage to conduct the concert. Grieg stood silently by as police inside the hall forcibly ejected the agitators, and then took up his baton. \u2018I energetically signalled the orchestra to open up with a fortissimo<\/i>,\u2019 he later reported, \u2018and from that moment on I was in complete control.\u2019<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure>Grieg was, though, shaken by the level of personal animosity he encountered while in Paris. The joyful celebrations which greeted his return to Norway, marking his 60th birthday, no doubt helped to re-establish a sense of personal well-being and belonging. But a scar remained \u2013 in the four years that were left until his death in 1907, the composer did not return to Paris again. <\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An introduction to Grieg<\/h2>The Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg (1843\u20131907) produced evocative, late <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/best-romantic-composers\">Romantic<\/a><\/strong> music, often strongly influenced by the folk traditions of his native land. His music often features a strong emotional pull, lyrical and songlike <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-melody\">melodies<\/a><\/strong>, and programmatic or picturesque qualities.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lyric Pieces, Book I, Op. 12: No. 1, Arietta\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9PFGpPzu_7s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure>Grieg\u2019s major achievement could be seen as bringing the sounds of Norwegian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-folk-music\">folk music<\/a><\/strong> into the classical music repertoire. He was inspired by the harmonies, rhythms, and modes of traditional Norwegian music, and many of his works have a distinctively Nordic flavour. In this way, he did for the music of his native land something similar to what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/antonin-dvorak\">Dvo\u0159\u00e1k<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/smetana-bedrich\">Smetana<\/a><\/strong> did for Czech music, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/jean-sibelius\">Sibelius<\/a><\/strong> for the music and folklore of Finland.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/the-ten-best-czech-composers\">Ten best Czech composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/sibelius-a-life-in-10-masterpieces\">Sibelius: a life in ten masterpieces<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway. He later studied at Germany\u2019s prestigious Leipzig Conservatory but then returned to Norway, feeling the pull of his native land and culture. His influence can be heard in the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/maurice-ravel\">Ravel<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/claude-debussy\">Debussy<\/a><\/strong>, who much admired, and built on, Grieg\u2019s subtle use of musical texture and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-harmony-in-music\">harmony<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>Many of Grieg\u2019s best known works feature the piano. These include the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/instrumental\/griegs-lyric-pieces-performed-mikhail-pletnev\">Lyric Pieces<\/a><\/strong>, a collection of 66 short works for piano. These range from delicate melodies to playful dances inspired by Norwegian folk tunes. Another famous work is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/orchestral\/grieg-prokofiev-piano-concertos\">Piano Concerto in A Minor<\/a><\/strong>, Grieg\u2019s only concertante work, and a brilliant showcase for the composer\u2019s <\/strong>lyrical gifts and sense of drama. We named this work one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/greatest-piano-concertos-all-time\">greatest piano concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Edvard Grieg: In the Hall of the Mountain King \/\/ Nicol\u00f2 Foron & London Symphony Orchestra\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OqvHWUZZdP0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure>Then there are the two Peer Gynt <\/em>Suites, written as incidental music for the play Peer Gynt<\/em> by Grieg’s compatriot Henrik Ibsen. The two suites taken from this music include some of Grieg\u2019s best-known pieces. Highlights include \u2018Morning Mood\u2019, a tranquil, pastoral melody that evokes peace and the serenity of a sunrise. Then there’s the very different \u2018In the Hall of the Mountain King\u2019. <\/strong>Dramatic and building in intensity, this piece evokes images of trolls and other mystical beings from Nordic folklore.<\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>Main image \u00a9 Getty Images<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Published: Thursday, 12 September 2024 at 08:37 AM In 12 September 1899, Edvard Grieg did something few composers or performers ever do \u2013 turn down a lucrative, high-profile booking with a leading orchestra. 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The invitation to guest-conduct a concert of his own works with the Colonne Orchestra in Paris, where Grieg had appeared three…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/47171"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}