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
Haugtussa (Grieg) the piano. From verse to verse, Grieg gradually changes this passage using different harmonizations. The first to perform the complete cycle of songs in Cristiania was Eva Nansen, wife of the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, with Grieg's colleague and friend Agathe Backer-Grøndahl at the piano, on 2 November 1899. Grieg was not present at the recital, for he had a concert in Stockholm at the same time. Four of the "Haugtussa" songs were also performed on 22 October 1898 by the Norwegian-born Swedish singer Dagmar Möller, to whom the cycle was dedicated. Haugtussa (Grieg) Haugtussa, Op. 67, or "The Mountain