Elvadalen Valley and "Spring"

Edvard Grieg frequently emphasised how much Hardanger had meant to him as an artist and as a person. He was overwhelmed by the immense beauty and grandeur of the landscape, and between fjord and mountain he found the peace and tranquillity he needed to realise and bring forth the musical ideas he had long felt where shut inside his creative mind. In a letter from Lofthus dated April 1878, Grieg writes: “Again I must impress on you how wonderful it is out here now. Incomparable weather a cloudless sky, and nature awakening all around us! Not to forget the starlings. There is a whole concert going on, everywhere one goes”. And in another letter “Yes, ‘this Lofthus’, as you say so disdainfully. But you should see ‘this Lofthus’, see the sky-high mountains, snow-clad right down to the sea, see these millions of picturesque things (…)”. To get this inspiration, Grieg usually wanders around in the village on his own, and where he came by, he often was invited inside by the locals. This way he came to meet several skilled Hardanger fiddle players who played for him traditional folk tunes. This experiences got reflected in Grieg’s own compositions later on, and his use and development of Norwegian folk music brought the music of Norway to international consciousness, as well as helping to develop a national identity. In the rare occasions when the Grieg took a stroll through the village in company with his family, the diminutive Grieg (only 1,54 metres tall) was always first, followed by his wife Nina one step behind, and three steps behind Nina’s sister, Tonny Hagerup. This “image” has been immortalised in the wooden statues made by Lars Stana that stand in the hotel gardens. One spring day Grieg was walking all by himself in the valley of Elvadal - there was still a lot of snow on the mountain tops, the weather was not too bad, the leaves on the trees and bushes were bright green and the river was big, the Skrikjo waterfall ran like a silver blanket down from the mountains. So when he came up Elvadalen, all alone, all this beauty of the countryside in spring touched him, he was captivated by the rushing sound of the river. He went back up on a large rock that lies close into the river, up there he was sitting and then came the inspiration, the first notes for “The Last Spring”. The famous piece ”The Last Spring” by Edvard Grieg. Afterwards he returned to his composer's cabin and completed the piece.