Agathe Backer Grøndahl:
The Story of an Artist

PIANIST + STORYTELLER: SARA AIMÉE SMISETH

Agathe Backer Grøndahl, born in Norway in 1843, was one of the cornerstones of Norwegian classical music’s golden age. She was a student of Franz Liszt, she performed in London and Paris with great success, and she was proclaimed one of the greatest pianists of the century by writer George Bernard Shaw. She composed more than 400 works for piano, voice, and orchestra, and she was a wife and a mother of three.

Norwegian pianist Sara Smiseth performs Grøndahl’s music whilst conveying the story of her life, including her close friendship with Nina and Edvard Grieg and her struggle to pursue a career as a pianist and composer against all odds.