In 1896, Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) composed a piece in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of his marriage to the former Nina Hagerup, a lyric soprano. The pair had wed in 1867, parenting a daughter who died in childhood. Though they had no more offspring, the couple enjoyed musical collaboration through the decades. Nina premiered many of her husband’s vocal works and is said to have inspired the composer’s best-known large-scale composition, the Piano Concerto in A minor.
It’s unclear why the observation of their 25th anniversary took place four years after the fact (1892 was the actual year of their 25th anniversary). Perhaps it took that long to assemble all the parts of what was, by all accounts, a huge celebration. In any case, the event and the musical piece written in its honor came round in 1896.
