Grieg's music in popular culture Piano Concerto in a sketch on the 1971 Morecambe and Wise Christmas special that featured Andre Previn. Grieg's music in popular culture The music of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg has been used extensively in media, music education, and popular music. For the 150th anniversary of his birth, Norway organized a huge celebration, "Grieg in the Schools", which included programs for children from pre-school to secondary school in 1993. The programs were repeated in 1996 in Germany, and called "Grieg in der Schule", in which over a thousand students participated. There were Grieg observances in 39 countries, from Mexico to
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra has had a long tradition of playing contemporary music. Ludwig van Beethoven's second symphony was performed in Bergen in the year it was published, 1804, even before it was performed in Berlin. Bergen-born composer Edvard Grieg had close ties with the orchestra, and was artistic director from 1880 to 1882. He also bequeathed a portion of his estate to a fund which continues to provide financial support for the orchestra. Other composers have served as principal conductor of the orchestra, including Arvid Fladmoe, Johan Halvorsen, Iver Holter, Richard Henneberg, Olav Kielland and Per Winge. Composer Harald Sæverud was frequently invited