Edvard Grieg Norway and abroad. Several of his doctors became his personal friends. In 1861, Grieg made his debut as a concert pianist in Karlshamn, Sweden. In 1862, he finished his studies in Leipzig and held his first concert in his home town, where his programme included Beethoven's "Pathétique" sonata. In 1863, Grieg went to Copenhagen, Denmark, and stayed there for three years. He met the Danish composers J. P. E. Hartmann and Niels Gade. He also met his fellow Norwegian composer Rikard Nordraak (composer of the Norwegian national anthem), who became a good friend and source of inspiration. Nordraak died in
Mothsgården in 1970. A memorial plaque on the side of the building facing the village pond commemorates the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's composition of his Piano Concerto in A minor during a visit to Mothsgården in the summer of 1968 ("Her i Mothsgaarden / komponerede / Edvard Grieg / i sommeren 1868 / koncerten for klaver / og orkester / Søllerød Kommune satte dette minde 1968"). Grieg often visited Denmark, where he had lived from 1863 to 1866 and where his mother had family (Hagerup). In 1867, he married his Danish cousin Nina Hagerup in Copenhagen. In 1868, the couple returned