Anitra’s Dance, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 Op. 46 No. 3: piano edition

History

Anitra's Dance comes from Grieg's music for Ibsen's play Peer Gynt. Grieg later selected music from the play for two orchestral suites and prepared piano versions himself. Anitra's Dance is the third movement of the first suite; here the stage music is encountered in a solo-piano edition.

Sources

• henle.de
• musescore.com

What to listen for

1. 1

   Slow chords prepare the dance

   The slow chordal introduction leads toward the opening marked Tempo di Mazurka. Hear its held sound as preparation for the more active dance.

2. 2

   A familiar phrase returns with a changed close

   Earlier phrases are recalled in writing before a different ending response. Recognise the contour without adding another return instruction.

3. 3

   Figures widen across registers and staves

   The later figures expand across registers and notation placement. Follow their musical strand through the exchanges.

4. 4

   The second ending closes with slower chords

   The second ending includes low-register movement and a slow chordal close. Hear how it completes the route differently from the first ending.

How to practise it

Let the sustained opening release before the light dance texture.

1. Hold through the tie without replaying it, then release together into the two rests.
2. Practise each layer's short attacks alone, then combine without flattening the eighths into quarters.
3. Connect the examined opening at a comfortable tempo only when its separate layers feel settled.

How hard is it

About this piece

Collection

At the dance floor

Licence

CC0

Source

musescore.com

More by Edvard Grieg

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3. 3Troldtog (March of the Dwarfs)Level 8, estimatedWith Maestro