Sigma Alpha Iota

22 Winter 2023 • sai-national.org By Jayne I. Hanlin T roldhaugen ("hill of the trolls") in Bergen, Norway, is the former home of Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). In the spring of 2022, I took a taxicab from the city center to the Edvard Grieg Museum. Built in 1995, the museum also has a souvenir shop, restaurant, and small room to watch films. On the property are orange signposts with numbers to identify each of the eight stops on the free audioguide. I had contacted John Hovland, Marketing and Sales Manager for KODE Art Museums and Composer Homes, about writing a PAN PIPES article on Troldhaugen. I was thrilled to discover he was available to guide me personally. Not only did he point out the highlights of the site, he shared fascinating non-musical bibliographical details about the composer, such as his republican stance, his fearlessness in defense of Alfred Dreyfus, and his extensive correspondence with others. Once Grieg invited Johannes Brahms to visit Troldhaugen, certain it would inspire him to write a fih symphony. But for whatever reason, the German composer declined. To begin the tour, we walked to Troldsalen, the 1985 submerged concert hall with an audience capacity of about 200. Typically, there are over 400 concerts per year in this venue. A sod roof (as structures had in days of old in order to feed goats and sheep as well as prevent their escape) covers its modern roof. Today no animals graze there! On the stage floor next to the Steinway grand piano were red, blue, and green circular mats ready for kindergartners participating in an introductory program organized by Museum Educator Natalia Pasko. Shortly before the youngsters arrived, pianist Frode Skag Storheim began to warm up. Apparent immediately when he touched the keys was the brilliant sound of the instrument: the acoustics in the hall are absolutely wonderful! Best of all, perhaps, was a breathtaking view through the floor-to-ceiling window at the back of the stage: Grieg's original composing hut down the hill with the Nordaas Lake beyond. Upon exiting, there was one of two life-size versions of the original 1914 Ingebrigt Vik bronze sculpture of the composer. e other copy stands in front of Edvard Grieg Concert Hall. e morning drizzle had stopped long enough to take photos without an umbrella. Because John is 6 feet 3 inches tall, Grieg (a musical giant at a mere five feet) seemed dwarfed beside my guide. Apparently, unlike A Wld of Music Edvard Grieg's Troldhaugen For more information: https://griegmuseum.no/en/about-troldhaugen KODE Art Museums and Composers Homes Marketing and Sales Manager KODE Art Museums and Composers Homes Marketing and Sales Manager John Hovland with a life-size statue of Edvard Grieg John Hovland with a life-size statue of Edvard Grieg Grieg's composing Grieg's composing hut visible from the hut visible from the Troldsalen Concert Hall Troldsalen Concert Hall

• Cover