rgen. That summer he came often to the Griegs' and soon discovered
the great desire of young Edward for a musical career. He got the boy
to improvise at the piano, and also to show him the little pieces he
had already composed. There were consultations with father and mother,
and then, finally, the violinist came to the boy, stroked his cheek
and announced; "You are to go to Leipsic and become a musician."

Edward was overjoyed. To think of gaining his heart's desire so easily
and naturally; it all seemed like a fairy tale, too good to be true.

The Leipsic Conservatory, which had been founded by Mendelssohn, and
later directed for a short time by Schumann, was now in the hands of
Moscheles, distinguished pianist and conductor. Richter and Hauptmann,
also Papperitz, taught theory; Wenzel, Carl Reinecke and Plaidy,
piano.

Some of these later gained the reputation of being rather dry and
pedantic; they certainly were far from comprehending the romantic
trend of the impressionable new pupil, for they tried to curb his
originality and square it with rules and customs. This process was
very irksome, for the boy wanted to go his own gait.

Among his fellow students at the Conservatory were at least a half
dozen who later made names for themselves. They were: Arthur Sullivan,
Walter Bache, Franklin Taylor, Edward Dannreuther and J.F. Barnett.
All these were making rapid progress in spite of dry methods. So
Edward Grieg began to realize that if he would also accomplish
anything, he must buckle down to work. He now began to study with
frantic ardor, with scarcely time left for eating and sleeping. The
result of this was a complete breakdown in the spring of 1860, with
several ailments, incipient lung trouble being the most serious.
Indeed it was serious enough to deprive Grieg of one lung, leaving him
for the remainder of his life somewhat delicate.

When his mother learned of his illness, she hurried to Leipsic and
took him back to Bergen, where he slowly regained his health. His
parents now begged him to remain at home, but he wished to return to
Leipsic. He did so, throwing himself into his studies with great zeal.
In the spring of 1862, after a course of four years, he passed his
examinations with credit. On this occasion he played some of his
compositions--the four which have been printed as Op. 1--and achieved
success, both as composer and pianist.

After a summer spent quietly with his parents at Landaas, he began