In the Hall of the Mountain King: the story and what to listen for

“In the Hall of the Mountain King” is a short piece for orchestra by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, written in 1875. It tells of a young man who sneaks into the hall of the troll king and has to run for his life. The music is one tune, played again and again. It starts slow and soft and ends fast and loud. It lasts about two and a half minutes.

Quick facts

• Composer: Edvard Grieg
• Written: 1875, for a play that opened in 1876
• For: orchestra
• Length: about two and a half minutes
• From: the music for the play Peer Gynt, and later the Peer Gynt Suite No. 1

The story

Peer Gynt is a young man in a play by the Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen. Peer brags, tells tall tales, and runs from every problem he makes.

One day in the mountains, he meets a woman dressed in green. She is the daughter of the Mountain King, who rules the trolls. She leads Peer deep inside the mountain to her father’s hall.

The hall is full of trolls, goblins, and gnomes. The king says Peer may marry his daughter, but he must first become a troll. He must wear a tail. He must let the king scratch his eyes, so that he sees the world as trolls see it.

Peer refuses. The trolls are furious. They rush at him from every side, and he runs.

In the play, church bells ring far away. The trolls cannot bear the sound. The hall falls in, and Peer gets out.

What to listen for

The tune. It is short, and it creeps. You will hear it about 18 times.

The start. Cellos, double basses, and bassoons play the tune low and soft. The strings pluck their notes. This is Peer on tiptoe.

The middle. Violins and woodwinds take the tune higher. The speed picks up a little with each turn. More trolls have seen him.

The end. The full orchestra plays as fast and as loud as it can. Cymbals crash and drums pound. Short silences break up the last chords, and one final crash ends it.

Two words to learn

Accelerando means “getting faster.” Say “ah-chel-er-AHN-doh.”

Crescendo means “getting louder.” Say “kreh-SHEN-doh.”

Most pieces do one or the other for a few bars. This piece does both from the first note to the last.

What Grieg thought of it

Grieg did not care for this piece. In a letter, he wrote that he could not bear to listen to it. It became his most famous music all the same.

The rest of Peer Gynt

Grieg wrote about 90 minutes of music for the play. He later picked eight pieces for two concert suites. “Morning Mood,” the famous sunrise tune, comes from the same play. Read the Peer Gynt Suite listening guide.

Things to do together

Tiptoe to a run. Start on tiptoe at one side of the room. Match your feet to the music. By the end, you will be running on the spot.

Count the tune. Make a tally mark each time the tune begins again.

Small to big. Crouch low and curl up at the start. Grow a little with each turn of the tune until you are as tall and wide as you can be.

Draw the hall. Draw the troll king’s hall. Add one more troll each time the tune repeats.

Kitchen band. Tap the beat on a pot with a wooden spoon. Start soft and slow and keep up with the orchestra.

Tell it your way. Play the piece without the story. Ask your child what is happening. Then tell them Grieg’s story.

Print and play

Learn more speed words with the tempo word game and the tempo and dynamics word cards. Read Grieg for kids for his life story. For more music with a shiver in it, see spooky classical music for kids.

For more pieces, see classical music listening guides for kids.