Troldhaugen
Encyclopedia
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
and his wife Nina Grieg. Troldhaugen is located in Bergen, Norway and consists of the Edvard Grieg Museum, Grieg’s villa, the hut where he composed music, and his and his wife's gravesite.
The building was designed by Grieg's cousin, the architect Schak Bull
Schak Bull
Schak August Steenberg Bull was a Norwegian architect.-Personal life:He was born in Årstad as the son of Colonel Jens Munthe Bull and his wife Johanne Margrethe Hagerup . His brother Edvard Hagerup Bull was a judge and politician, and his maternal grandfather was politician Edvard Hagerup...
. The name comes from trold meaning troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
and haug from the Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
word haugr meaning hill or knoll. Grieg is reputed to have said that children called the nearby small valley "The Valley of Trolls" and thus gave the name for his building as well. Edvard Grieg himself called the building "my best composition hitherto".
Edvard and Nina Grieg finished building Troldhaugen in 1885. Edvard and Nina Grieg lived in Troldhaugen when he was home in Norway, mostly in the summer. Troldhaugen was the home of Edvard Grieg from April 1885 to his death. After the death of her husband in 1907, Nina Grieg moved to Denmark where she spent the remainder of her life. Grieg and his wife's ashes rest inside a mountain tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
near the house.
Troldhaugen is a typical 19th century residence with panoramic tower and a large veranda. Grieg's small composer's hut overlooking Nordås Lake. Grieg immortalized the name of his home in one of his piano pieces, Wedding-Day at Troldhaugen
Lyric Pieces
Lyric Pieces is a collection of 66 short pieces for solo piano written by Edvard Grieg. They were published in 10 volumes, from 1867 to 1901...
, Opus 65, No. 6.
Troldhaugen and its surroundings are now a museum dedicated to the memory of Edvard Grieg. In 1995, a museum building was added, with a permanent exhibition of Edvard Grieg's life and music, as well as shop and restaurant. In the villa’s living room stands Grieg’s Steinway grand piano, which Grieg was given as a silver wedding anniversary present in 1892. Today the instrument is used for private concerts, special occasions and intimate concerts held in connection with Bergen International Festival
Bergen International Festival
Bergen International Festival is an annual international music and cultural festival in Bergen, Norway. The festival is the largest in the Nordic countries in its genre and has a large number of activities in music, dance, literature, visual arts, folklore etc...
.
Troldsalen, a concert hall, offers concert series in the summer and autumn months, as well as many other concerts and events. Troldsalen, which was completed in 1985, is an elegant and beautiful concert hall, with excellent acoustics. The floor-to-ceiling windows behind the stage provide the audience with a lovely view of the composer's hut and Lake Nordås.
Other sources
- Torsteinson, Sigmund Femti ar med Troldhaugen: Glimt fra museumstiden 1928-1978 (Gyldendal. 1978)
- Torsteinson, Sigmund Troldhaugen med en kort biografi om Edvard Grieg (John Grieg. 1960)
- Kayser, Audun Troldhaugen: Nina and Edvard Griegs home (John Grieg. 1980)