Nina Grieg, née Hagerup (24 November 1845 – 9 December 1935) was a
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
–
Norwegian lyric soprano.
Early life and family
Nina Hagerup was born in
Bergen,
Norway. She was the
first cousin of
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
Edvard Grieg, whom she married.
Career
The couple often performed concerts together in Europe; on 6 December 1897, they performed some of his music at a
private concert at
Windsor Castle for
Queen Victoria and her court.
Her husband Edvard considered her the best performer of his songs, and her performances usually received rave reviews. However, one of Victoria's courtiers called her singing "passée".
She was featured as a soloist in
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...
's ''
Elijah'' with ''
Musikselskabet Harmonien
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is a Norwegian orchestra based in Bergen. Its principal concert venue is the Grieg Hall.
History
Established in 1765 under the name ''Det Musicalske Selskab'' (The Musical Society), it later changed its name t ...
'' (later known as the
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is a Norwegian orchestra based in Bergen. Its principal concert venue is the Grieg Hall.
History
Established in 1765 under the name ''Det Musicalske Selskab'' (The Musical Society), it later changed its name t ...
) in 1866.
[https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010062508025 Haavet, Inger Elisabeth (1998): ''Nina Grieg: kunstner og kunstnerhustru'', p. 65]
The English composer
Frederick Delius dedicated two sets of songs to her in the years 1888–1890.
Nina Grieg never recorded professionally, but two amateur recordings made on
wax cylinders have been preserved (in quite poor condition) and have been issued on the
Simax label.
Personal life and death
She married her first cousin, Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, on 11 June 1867, in
Copenhagen,
Denmark. Nina and Edvard identified as
Unitarians
Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to:
Christian and Christian-derived theologies
A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism:
* Unitarianism (1565–present) ...
.
After his death in 1907, she moved to Denmark. In Copenhagen, she attended a Unitarian church. She died in 1935 at the age of 90. She was cremated and her ashes were placed with her husband's' ashes in a mountain tomb near
Troldhaugen, outside
Bergen, where the couple had shared a home for most of their married years.
Literature
*Haavet, Inger Elisabeth (1998): ''Nina Grieg. Kunstner og kunstnerhustru.'' H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard), Oslo. . (Digital copy in Norwegian, available for Norwegian IP addresses only, at the Norwegian National Library's website.)
See also
*
List of coupled cousins
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grieg, Nina
1845 births
Norwegian Unitarians
1935 deaths
19th-century Norwegian women singers
Musicians from Bergen
Nina Grieg
Norwegian expatriates in Denmark