In the Hall of the Mountain King

It was originally part of Opus 23 but was later extracted as the final piece of Peer Gynt, Suite No.

The piece is played as the title character Peer Gynt, in a dream-like fantasy, enters "Dovregubbens (the troll Mountain King's) hall".

The scene's introduction continues: "There is a great crowd of troll courtiers, gnomes and goblins.

[2][3] Grieg himself wrote, "For the Hall of the Mountain King, I have written something that so reeks of cowpats, ultra-Norwegianism, and 'to-thyself-be-enough-ness' that I cannot bear to hear it, though I hope that the irony will make itself felt.

The simple theme begins slowly and quietly in the lowest registers of the orchestra, played first by the cellos, double basses, and bassoons.