From the Fjords to the Alps

A champion of Norwegian music, Edvard Grieg composed only two string quartets, the second of which is unfinished. The String Quartet No. 1 in G minor was premiered in Cologne on October 29, 1878, by the Heckmann Quartet. After hearing it in Wiesbaden, Liszt decided to perform it immediately in Rome, which earned the work a rather unexpected reception. As for the short string quartet Crisantemi (" Chrysanthemums "), it was composed by Puccini in 1...