Grieg: Elves’ Dance: Op. 12, No. 04

Grieg wrote ten”books” of short pieces called “Lyric Pieces”. The first (Opus 12) was published in 1867, when he was only 24 years old. The last one was published only six years before his death, so these Lyric pieces were written throughout his life. Using “opus numbers” for the chronology of compositions became common by the end of the 1800s, so they give us an idea of when things were written.

But the important thing is that there are 66 in all.

Each one has a Norwegian title, so an exact English title is a matter of translation. Elves’ Dance is the 4th from Book I. So it was written very early. It is a short piece that features sharp accents and staccato notes. The tricky part is to find a way to repeat sections without sounding repetitive. You do that with different dynamics to vary the sound and intensity of the music.

It is simple enough for a 2nd or 3rd year student to play it, but it’s not easy to play well.

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