Edvard Grieg ( June 15, 1843 - September 4, 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. Raised in a musical family, his mother was his first piano teacher at age six. Grieg later on enrolled in the Leipzig Conservatory where he focused predominantly on the piano. 

After finishing school in 1862, Grieg went to Copenhagen, Denmark for three years, and met a fellow composer, Rikard Nordraak, who was a great source of inspiration for him. Some years later Grieg would meet with Liszt, who was an admirer of his, and go over Grieg's compositions together; Liszt was known to have given him advice on orchestration.

Grieg is no obscure composer, but there are several works of his that we hear far more often than others. He's known for his Peer Gynt Suites, and his ever famous Piano Concerto, among other works. One piece that doesn't get as much attention is In Autumn, which was first written as an orchestral overture. Grieg showed it to Niels Gade, who said" This is trash, Grieg; go home and write something better." Grieg then arranged it for piano 4 hands, which is what we are looking at today. (incidentally, he then sent it in to a competition where Gade was a judge, and won first prize!)

The piece starts with a bright opening statement in D major and a cheerful little line follows immediately. Things turn slightly darker and more tense as the work transitions in to D minor, with the minor theme taken from a song called "Autumn Storm". There's a break from the storm when the work goes to its second theme in F major, and then goes through a few modulations before coming back to the main themes, and ends brightly and triumphantly. Both piano parts for this will keep the musicians busy, and listeners engaged; Grieg's writing can be equal parts delicate and rich at times, with exciting themes and a wide pallet of tonal colors!

Here's a couple recordings of this work, in its orchestral version.

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra