Noctave
Born in Bergen, Grieg studied at the Leipzig Conservatory, then returned to Norway, whose folk dances and songs he brought into his music. He wrote a Piano Concerto in A minor, the incidental music to Ibsen's play Peer Gynt, and sixty-six Lyric Pieces for piano, published in ten books. He died in Bergen in 1907.
Start with Troldtog, the March of the Trolls from the Lyric Pieces: octaves mostly in the left hand, quick leaps and a right hand that goes beyond six notes per second. In the Hall of the Mountain King comes next, in Grieg's own piano version. The same theme comes back again and again, climbing and speeding up, across almost the whole keyboard: hold the opening tempo without rushing, or you will have nothing left for the end.