Grieg - Holberg Suite - 1. Praeludium

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Description

This piece is dedicated to a friend in celebration of a special birthday.

Originally for piano, Grieg rearranged the suite for string orchestra, which has since become the standard. The most notable feature of this opening movement is the driving rhythm which runs almost constantly throughout the piece. It's meant to sound effortless and joyful - in reality it's slightly scary as the bowing is quite difficult! Another interesting feature is the striking clash in the penultimate note of the piece - a F sharp in the second violins and the G right next to it in the firsts. You have to play it like you mean it!