Grieg’s Lyric Pieces is a set of 66 short pieces the composer started in 1867 when he was just 24 years old, and it took 34 years to complete. Arietta is the first piece in this set and is remarkable for its expressiveness, while still being short and simple. This piece requires a wide variety of colors to be created in just a few lines of music. Each phrase has a specific direction and it will help you develop expressive lyrical playing, as well as voicing and balance between different lines. The theme from Arietta was one of Grieg's favorite melodies. He used it to complete the cycle in his very last lyric piece, "Remembrances", this time as a waltz.