ABSTRACT

The 100th anniversary of the birth of Edvard Grieg in 1943, which took place roughly halfway through the German occupation of Norway, became an ideologically charged cultural event that led to a profound change in the relationship between music and politics in Norwegian musical life. For the Germans, the centenary provided a welcome opportunity to celebrate and intensify the cultural bonds with their Norwegian ‘Brudervolk’, whereas the response from the Norwegians was more divided. Supporters of the Norwegian Nazi party cherished Grieg as a harbinger of a great, pan-Germanic civilisation founded on the heroic, Old Norse sagas and folk tales. Yet for the civil resistance movement, both within the country and living in exile, Grieg remained the archetypal symbol for the 19th century’s cultural-nationalist movement and its continuous struggle for independence and democracy. In this chapter, the ideological ‘tug-of-war’ in Norway’s musical life is examined by following the actions and responses to Grieg from opposing protagonists, illustrated by newly discovered sources retrieved from archives in Norway and Germany.