Christian August Sinding was a Norwegian composer who lived from January 11, 1856, to December 3, 1941. He is most famous for his musical piece for piano called Frühlingsrauschen (Rustle of Spring), which he wrote in 1896. He was often compared to another Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg, and was seen as Grieg's successor.
Personal life
Christian Sinding was born in Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway. His parents were Matthias Wilhelm Sinding, a mine manager, and Cecilie Marie Mejdell. He had a brother, Otto Sinding, who was a painter, and a brother, Stephan Sinding, who was a sculptor. His sister, Thora Cathrine Sinding, married Glør Thorvald Mejdell, a lawyer.
Christian Sinding was the nephew of Nicolai Mejdell and Thorvald Mejdell. He was also a first cousin of Alfred Sinding-Larsen, a journalist and writer.
In November 1898, he married Augusta Gade, an actress born Smith-Petersen (1858–1936). She was the daughter of Morten Smith-Petersen and Cathrine von der Lippe. Before marrying Christian, she was married to Fredrik Georg Gade, a doctor and supporter of the arts.
Career
He first studied music in Christiania (now Oslo) before moving to Germany, where he trained at the Leipzig Conservatory under Salomon Jadassohn. He was influenced by the music of Wagner and Liszt. He spent much of his life in Germany but received regular financial support from the Norwegian government. Between 1921 and 1922, he traveled to the United States of America to teach composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
His publishers asked him to write piano and chamber music, which sold more than the symphonic works he preferred. His primary instrument was the violin. Sinding composed many short, melodious piano pieces and songs, leading some to view him as a successor to his countryman, Edvard Grieg, not because of similar musical styles but because he was a Norwegian composer with international recognition. Sinding is best known today for his piano piece Frühlingsrauschen (Rustle of Spring, 1896). Other works include four symphonies, three violin concertos, a piano concerto, chamber music, songs, choral works based on Norwegian texts, and an opera titled Der Heilige Berg (The Holy Mountain, 1914).
Awards
Sinding was named a member of the Order of St. Olav in 1905 and was named a Commander in 1916. In 1938, he was given the Grand Cross. He was also named a Commander of the Order of Vasa. In 1905, he joined the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. In 1924, he was honored with lifetime residence at Henrik Wergeland's former home, Grotten in Oslo.
Legacy
Sinding had serious memory problems since the late 1930s. Eight weeks before he died in 1941, he joined the Norwegian Nazi party, Nasjonal Samling. However, his membership card was not signed. The Nazis wanted to recruit Sinding because he was very popular in Norway and Germany before the war. After Norway was freed at the end of World War II, it was official policy for the national broadcasting system to avoid people who supported the Nazis. Because of this, Sinding’s reputation in Norway became less well known after the war. Questions about his membership in the Nazi party are still being discussed. Sinding had made statements against the Nazi occupation. He worked to protect Jewish musicians in the early 1930s and was a close friend of Nordahl Grieg.
Documents
Letters written by Christian Sinding are stored in the State Archives in Leipzig. These letters are also part of the business records of the music publisher C.F. Peters, located in Leipzig.