Edvard Grieg
Some say he painted the scenery, the people, and the moods of Norway with notes. He was Edvard Haurerp Grieg; a Norwegian composer who made significant advances in composing music. Edvard Grieg was one of the respected musicians of the Romantic Period and discovered his talent very early on. Grieg, although only playing the piano and the organ, had written many sonatas, concertos, and simple pieces for many different instruments such as the violin. He also wrote and played on a Norwegian instruments, such as a Hardanger fiddle, which was the country's national folk instrument.
Edvard Grieg was born on June 15, 1843, in Bergen Norway as the fourth child out of five. His father was in the fish export business as well as the British Couselship. His mother was a singer, a pianist, a piano teacher, a famous accompanist and shadowed Ole Bull as well. The music gene must have run through the family as Grieg's brother and sister were also interested in playing very early on. As a child, Grieg did not do well in the academic section of school, but was quickly became interested in composing. It was around that time that Norway had gained its independence and haf just entered a period of romanticized cultural nationalism. This is what gave Grieg most of his inspiration. Ole bull had visited Grieg's mother at her home for dinner when he had Grieg playing something of his own on the piano. Recognizing the talent that Grieg had, Ole Bull suggested to Grieg's parents that they send Grieg to study at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1858. At the school, Grieg became disinterested in what they were learning, which was the musical past. However, he was fascinated by the musical compostitions of recent composers such as Fryderyk Chopin, Richard Wagner, and Robert Schumann. They would add to the inspiration for his great works. He was working on some pieces wgen pleerisy (inflammation in the lungs) was discovered in 1860 led to a collapsed lung and respitory troubles for the rest of his life. This did not deter the tenacious Grieg as he kept working to produce pieces. Once he started to build his repuation, Grieg moved to Copenhagen, Denmark in 1863 to further his education. There he mentored with Niels Gade. When in Copenhagen, Grieg fell in love with his cousin, (on his mothers side), Nina, and got engaged in 1864 against the wishes of each of their parents. This was due to the closenes of their familial link. His piece, Six Songs, was dedicated to Nina, who was a gifted singer. Grieg also became aquainted with Richart Nortraak, who was the composer of the Norwegian National Anthem. Nortraak was another model for Grieg's composing. Around 1888, Greig also befriended Johannes Brahms and Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Grieg started to suffer from severe health illness, but continued to write music. Ironically, these pieces he wrote in his times of sickness were his most distinguished pieces. Unfortunately, Edvard Grieg died on September 4, 1907, at the age of 64, with a repuation that would make him a respected composer for centuries.
Grieg was particularly interested in Norwegian dances, plays, poetry, novels, and songs. Most of his songs and pieces he composed were imagery based and for plays or orchestras. He eventually developed his own style of composition using parallelism and chromatic melodies, which was inspiried by his musical studies. Some of the folk tunes written for the Hardanger fiddle were also influential in composing his music. Many theorize that "Grieg developed a personal style that came to define Norwegian art music." His use of Norwegian folk songs and idioms allowed many after Grieg to be inspired and write equally amazing pieces of music. Percy Grainger and Frederick Delius both were influenced by Grieg in finding new ways to connect chords, harmonize tunes, and change keys.
Edvard Grieg's musical contributions include a number of sonatas, concertos and ballets. Some of his most famous works include Six Songs, The Heart's Melodies, Humoresques, Haugtussa, Symphonic Dances, and Piano Concerto in A minor. His nationalistic pieces included a set of nineteen piano pieces called Norske folkeviser, Humoresques, Lyrics Pieces (ten books of small folk-influenced piano works), and Norwegian Peasant Dances. Once Grieg had gained a reputation, he spent most of his time traveling around to world attending events in which he was invited to perform and conduct. At one point, he became the conductor of the Bergen Harmonic Society. Grieg sat down and began actually composing music again in the 1890's. This was when he his illness was worsening, but wrote some of his best pieces.

Sources
"Edvard Grieg Homepage." Edvard Grieg Homepage. Web. 27 Sept. 2015. .

"SuggestedListening." Edvard Grieg. Web. 27 Sept. 2015. .

"Paying Tribute to Grieg, a Norwegian Original | The Juilliard School." Paying Tribute to Grieg, a Norwegian Original | The Juilliard School. 2008. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

"Edvard Grieg Biography." – Childhood, Life And Timeline. Web. 28 Sept. 2015. .