Due to an unforeseen cancellation, the originally advertised performers, Andrew Atkins and Caitlin Morris, are no longer able to appear in this concert. We are delighted that pianist Guy Donaldson has kindly agreed to step in as the guest performer for this Sunday Matinée Series programme.

This programme is inspired by a memorable musical journey to Norway in late 2025. While travelling with his wife Judith on a voyage along the Norwegian coast aboard the Hurtigruten ship Midnatsol, our Guy brought with him the music of the great Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, hoping one day to play Grieg’s beloved piano piece Wedding Day at Troldhaugen in the composer’s own home near Bergen.

Although the Troldhaugen cottage and museum were closed for refurbishment, an unexpected opportunity arose on board the ship. After hearing him practice on one of the vessel’s public keyboards, the ship’s Events Manager invited him to give a concert for fellow passengers. The programme featured music by Grieg, including selections from the Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 and several Lyric Pieces, culminating in Wedding Day at Troldhaugen.

The enthusiastic response led to further concerts during the voyage through the Arctic regions. One performance was memorably interrupted when passengers rushed outside to witness the Northern Lights. A later concert included a varied programme of Nordic and night-inspired music by Grieg, Beethoven and Debussy, alongside Percy Grainger’s English Country Gardens and Sibelius’s Finlandia, with Wedding Day at Troldhaugen returning as an encore.

After the voyage, a visit to Troldhaugen itself though the buildings remained closed provided a moving opportunity to reflect beside Grieg’s statue in the peaceful grounds overlooking the fjord.

This performance of Wedding Day at Troldhaugen is shared with that journey in mind, enriched by vivid Norwegian memories and a renewed connection to the music and landscape that inspired it.