Edvard Grieg was born in Bergen, a seaport in Norway. His first music teacher was his mother, who was a wonderful pianist. Many members of the Grieg family were musical, so Edvard’s parents didn’t object when he wanted to be a musician when he grew up.

As a teenager, Edvard was sent to study at the best music conservatory in Europe — in Leipzig, Germany. After he graduated, Grieg spent time in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he met and married his cousin Nina, who was a singer.

Grieg had an active career as a pianist, giving concerts all over Europe. But every summer, he came back to Norway to compose. He became a great champion of Norwegian music, art and theater, which is why the great Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen asked Grieg to write music for his play Peer Gynt.