The case in summary: A cardboard box with 90 unknown letters written by Nina Grieg has been found in the archive at Troldhaugen. The letter can provide new insight into the life and artistry of Edvard Grieg. According to experts, Nina Grieg was very important for the management of her husband’s music rights and legacy after his death. She engaged a lawyer to secure the rights to her husband’s works. The letter will now be filed away and stored in Bergen Public Library’s vault. It is hoped to be able to digitize the collection of letters so that everyone can read up on Nina Grieg’s letters. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. It is with devotion that a gray cardboard box is drilled into the venerable Grieg room at the main library in Bergen. The large Grieg collection that is kept here is to receive a new and surprising addition. The box was found in the archives of Troldhaugen. None of those who will now get to read the letter for the first time in 90 years were aware that it existed. It contains 90 handwritten letters written by Nina Grieg to a friend and to a music dealer in Bergen. They can provide a new insight into the legacy of one of the country’s best-known artist couples. They dated many years after her husband Edvard died. Edvard and Nina Grieg. Photo: Bergen Public Library With careful hands, the director of the museum at Troldhaugen, Christian Grøvlen, took out the uppermost letter and slowly read the squiggly handwriting. The letter is from Nina Grieg to her friend Hildur Rabe, daughter of music dealer and concert organizer Carl Rabe. Hildur gradually took over the running of the company, which had a very good reputation both at home and abroad. Wilhelm Hansen (1821-1904) was a Danish music publisher who published first editions of Grieg’s works while the composer was still alive. Nina Grieg was clearly not satisfied with how Hansen managed her husband’s works, and she later signed with the German music publisher Edition Peters in Leipzig. Tonny, who is mentioned in the letter, is Nina’s unmarried sister, with whom she lived after Edvard Grieg died. The letter is signed by Nina Grieg. Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / news In the shadow of her husband Nina Grieg herself was important in the work to make Troldhaugen in Fana a museum today. The Grieg couple lived here together from 1885 until Edvard died in 1907. After that, Nina took over the management of both the property, the music rights and the estate of her husband. – She was decisive for the image we have of Edvard Grieg’s artistry, says Monica Jangaard, curator at the art museum Kode in Bergen. Music curator Monica Jangaard believes Nina Grieg has not been given the place she deserves in history. Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / news – Edvard wrote it himself. That his wife Nina had not received the attention she deserves. And that it was probably somewhat his fault. Jangaard will now research the newly discovered letters. She hopes to highlight how important Nina Grieg was. – She was a great singer, all her husband’s songs were written for her. So she was a critic and manager of his work. Who was Nina Grieg? Nina Grieg Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / news Born Nina Hagerup, 24 November 1845 in Bergen. Died 9 December 1935 in Copenhagen. Married to Edvard Grieg from 1867 until his death in 1907. Was also Edvard Grieg’s cousin. Educated singers and song pedagogues. Was a skilled pianist. Often performed together with her husband, and was important in the management of his artistry. Bidder mostly in Denmark after 1907. – Nina Grieg must have been a sensational person. Modern and future-oriented. One of our greatest artists, believes Christian Grøvlen. When Nina Grieg wrote the letter he reads from, she was almost 90 years old. She has moved to Denmark and lives in a hotel in Copenhagen. She throws herself into issues of copyright, and hires a lawyer to get the money she believes she is entitled to. Perhaps the answer to how things are going is in the still unread letters in the cardboard box. A clean-up in the archive may have uncovered these documents. He hopes the contents of the letter can lift Nina up to the place she deserves. Troldhaugen, the composer’s home south of central Bergen. Photo: denisbin/flickr creative commons – A Bergen cultural treasure Around the table in the Grieg room at the library are both cultural councilor Reidar Digranes and library director Julie Andersland. Even though they have only been able to read one of the letters, there is excitement over the find. – This shows that the legacy of Edvard and Nina Grieg continues to give. It is a cultural treasure that still teaches us something new. One gets a bit of awe from reading this, says Digranes. He grew up not far from Troldhaugen. The letter becomes part of the already extensive Grieg collection, managed by Bergen Public Library. They must be discarded and stored safely in the library’s vault. Eventually, the library manager hopes that they will get funds to digitize the letter collection. Then everyone will be able to read up on Nina Grieg’s letters. Reidar Digranes, Christian Grøvlen and Julie Andersland have read the first letter written by Nina Grieg. Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / news Published 03.07.2024, at 17.57
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Unknown letter reveals 90-year-old battle over Edvard Grieg’s music – news Vestland
