Lyric Pieces

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Title page of the fourth volume of Lyric Pieces

Lyric Pieces (Norwegian: Lyriske stykker) is a collection of 66 short pieces for solo piano written
by Edvard Grieg. They were published in 10 volumes, from 1867 (Op. 12) to 1901 (Op. 71). The
collection includes several of his best known pieces, such as Wedding Day at
Troldhaugen (Bryllupsdag p Troldhaugen), To Spring (Til vren), March of the Trolls(Trolltog),
and Butterfly (Sommerfugl).
The theme of the first piece in the set, Arietta, was one of the composer's favorite melodies. He used
it to complete the cycle in his very last lyric piece, Remembrances (Efterklang) this time as a
humorous waltz.
In 2002, Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes recorded a CD with 24 of the lyric pieces on Grieg's
own 1892 Steinway grand piano at Troldhaugen, the composer's residence. Among other notable
pianists to make recordings of the collection areWalter Gieseking, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil
Gilels, Eva Knardahl, Andrei Gavrilov, Hkon Austb, Einar Steen-Nkleberg,Irina
Mejoueva, Gerhard Oppitz, Stephen Hough, and Javier Perianes. A few recordings and piano rolls of
Grieg himself performing also exist, and they have been published by the Norwegian record label
Simax.
Four of the six pieces from Book V, Op. 54, were orchestrated under the title of Lyric Suite. Both
Grieg and Anton Seidl had a hand in the orchestrations. Grieg also orchestrated two of the pieces
from Book IX, Op. 68.