Christian Sinding

Christian August Sinding ( born January 11, 1856 in Kongsberg, † December 3, 1941 in Oslo) was a Norwegian composer.

Sinding studied music first in Oslo before he moved to Germany. There he studied under Salomon Jadassohn at the Leipzig Conservatory. He spent most of his life in Germany, but received regular financial support from Norway. In the years 1920 and 1921 he lived in the United States and taught composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

As he composed many lyrical piano works and about 250 songs, many in him saw the successor of Edvard Grieg. One of his best known works is spring noise from the year 1896. Among his other compositions that are barely played today, four symphonies, three violin concertos, a piano concerto, chamber music and opera are The Holy Mountain of 1914.

Life

On January 11, 1856 (then Kristiania ), born as the son of mining engineer Mathias Wilhelm Sinding Christian August Sinding and Maria Cecilie in Kongsberg, a small town about 70 kilometers west of Oslo that is artistically interesting. His early childhood was spent, however, in Lillehammer. In 1860 his father died and the family moved to Oslo. The two older brothers Otto and Stephan first propose a legal career before they successfully turn to painting, writing and sculpture. Christian Sinding, however, shows a special musical talent. 1867 Christian enters into the venerable cathedral school. Five years later, his services are in school but so bad that an uncle let him learn the shoemaking. Sinding but asserts itself in the sense that it is not too strange times in the piano factory of the brothers neck a lesson begins. He receives a regular and thorough instruction on various instruments. In 1874, he turns to the Leipzig Conservatory, which was the first stop for a particularly good study music at the time.

After Salomon Jadassohn 1877 he wrote in his annual report that he has only a small musical talent, Sinding interrupts his studies and plays in Oslo in an orchestra under the direction of Grieg and Johan Svendsen. In the time Sinding begins to care more and more for composing. In 1879 he returned to Leipzig and takes lessons in composition with Carl Reinecke. That same year, a violin sonata and in Oslo are listed in sonata for piano in Leipzig. He later destroyed this as well as most of the early compositions.

A state scholarship enabled Sinding 1884 an extended stay in Munich. In Munich, he learns the music of Richard Wagner, who later has an influence on his compositions, know. During this time the first valid compositions that are also published in print arise.

On December 19, 1885 will be held in Oslo a concert that Sinding at least helps in Scandinavia to break through. On the program: a String Quartet in A major ( destroyed ), later published as Opus 1 old ways of poems by Gottfried Keller and the Piano Quintet in E minor op 5

The following year, Sinding holds back in Leipzig and builds artistic contacts. Until his death he will spend nearly forty years in Central Europe. But he always returns to Norway. A year later he starts working on the Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Opus 21, 1888 Sinding with his piano quintet at the first Nordic Music Festival in Copenhagen brilliant success. He comments on this in a letter to Frederick Delius. Sinding writes (original in German):

After the Leipzig premiere of the Piano Quintet on January 19, 1889, comes to an altercation that Sinding helps to national breakthrough among the critics of two musical newspapers. In Oslo, the Piano Concerto in D flat major, Op 6 premiered on November 2.

1890, the second version of the Symphony No. 1, Op 21 is listed in Oslo. He has not been out of the hand The first version. On January 4, 1894 performing at Dresden valid third version of the symphony. 1896 appear the Six Pieces for Piano, Op 32 in print, their No. 3 " spring noise" in the shortest time is extremely popular and is also found in countless edits dissemination. Sinding 1898 completes in London his Violin Concerto. On March 22, 1907 Felix Weingartner conducts in Berlin, the first performance of the Symphony No. 2 in D major op 83 1909 Sinding is elected member of the Prussian Academy of Arts.

After Sinding has received continuously since 1880 by the Norwegian State a grant to him in 1910 an "artist fee " awarded to secure a livelihood.

In 1912, Sinding he closes after three years of work on his only opera " The Holy Mountain " op 111 from which premiered on April 17, 1914.

In recognition of his creative work Sinding has been receiving his 65th birthday by the Norwegian State, an annual honor salary of 6000 crowns. He takes over in 1921 professor of composition at the Eastman School of Music in the U.S., this position is but the following year again. As a final compositions arise again in 1935 six songs on Norwegian texts. On January 13 1936 Harald Heide conducted in Bergen, the first performance of the Symphony No. 4 "Frost and Spring", Op 129

1941, two months before his death, it is reported that the most popular composer has entered the Norwegian Nazi Party Nasjonal Samling - a very strange circumstance, since he already has for years suffering from severe dementia. The result is that he is a long time in his home for a non-person. On December 3, 1941 Christian Sinding dies at the age of 85 years.

Works

• Chamber Music Works for Violin and Piano Sonata in G (1879 )
• Romance e op 9 (1886 )
• Suite in the Old Style, Op 10 (1889 )
• Suite F, Op 14 (1891 )
• Sonata in C, Op 12 (1894 )
• Sonata in E, Op 27 (1895 )
• Romance e, Op 30 (1896 )
• 4 morceaux, Op 43 (1898 )
• Scènes de la vie G, Op 51 (1900)
• 4 Pieces, Op 61 (?)
• Sonata in F, Op 73 (1905 )
• Cantus Doloris, Variations, Op 78 (1906 )
• 2 romances F, D, Op 79 (1906 )
• 4 Pieces, Op 81 (?)
• 3 Pieces, Op 89 (1908 )
• Suite in G, Op 96 (1909 )
• Sonata in old style in D minor, Op 99 (1909 )
• 3 elegiac pieces, Op 106 (1911 )
• 3 Preludes, Op 112 (1913 )
• 3 Caprices, Op 114 (1913 )

• Piano Quartet (1882 )
• String Quartet (1884 )
• Piano Quintet in E minor, Op 5 ( 1882-4 )
• Piano Trio in D major, Op 23 (1893 )
• Piano Trio in A minor, Op 64a (1902 )
• Serenade for 2 Violins and Piano in G major, Op 56 (1903 )
• 6 Pieces for Cello and Piano, Op 66 (1903 )
• String Quartet in A minor, Op 70 (1904 )
• 8 Pieces for Piano 4hdg. op 71
• Piano Trio in C major, Op 87 (1908 )
• Serenade for 2 Violins and Piano in A major, Op 92 (1909 )
• Nordic Ballade for Cello and Piano, Op 105 (1911)
• Suite for solo violin in D minor, Op 123 (1919)

• Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op 21 (1894 )
• Symphony No. 2 in D major, op 83 (1907 )
• Symphony No. 3 in F major, op 121
• Symphony No. 4 "Winter and Spring", Op 129 (1936 )