But dreams were turned into deeds before long, for the child tried to set down on paper the little melodies that haunted him.  It is said he began to do this at the age of nine.  A really serious attempt was made when he was twelve or thirteen.  This was a set of variations for piano, on a German melody.  He brought it to school one day to show one of the boys.  The teacher caught sight of it and reprimanded the young composer soundly, for thus idling his time.  It seems that in school he was fond of dreaming away the hours, just as he did at the piano.

The truth was that school life was very unsympathetic to him, very narrow and mechanical, and it is no wonder that he took every opportunity to escape and play truant.  He loved poetry and knew all the poems in the reading books by heart; he was fond, too, of declaiming them in season and out of season.

With the home atmosphere he enjoyed, the boy Grieg early became familiar with names of the great composers and their works.  One of his idols was Chopin, whose strangely beautiful harmonies were just beginning to be heard, though not yet appreciated.  His music must have had an influence over the lad’s own efforts, for he always remained true to this ideal.

Another of his admirations was for Ole Bull, the famous Norwegian violinist.  One day in summer, probably in 1858, when Edward was about fifteen, this “idol of his dreams” rode up to the Grieg home on horseback.  The family had lived for the past five years at the fine estate of Landaas, near Bergen.  The great violinist had just returned from America and was visiting his native town, for he too was born in Bergen.  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.