Edvard Grieg Alexander Greig, travelled widely, settling in Norway about 1770, and establishing business interests in Bergen. Edvard Grieg was raised in a musical family. His mother was his first piano teacher and taught him to play at the age of six. Grieg studied in several schools, including Tanks Upper Secondary School. In the summer of 1858, Grieg met the eminent Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, who was a family friend; Bull's brother was married to Grieg's aunt. Bull recognized the 15-year-old boy's talent and persuaded his parents to send him to the Leipzig Conservatory, the piano department of which was directed by
Edvard Grieg drew between 30,000 and 40,000 people out on the streets of his home town to honor him. Following his wish, his own "Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak" was played in an orchestration by his friend Johan Halvorsen, who had married Grieg's niece. In addition, the "Funeral March" movement from Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 was played. Grieg was cremated, and his ashes were entombed in a mountain crypt near his house, Troldhaugen. After the death of his wife, her ashes were later placed alongside his. Edvard Grieg and his wife considered themselves Unitarians and Nina went to the