Sinding, Christian

Christian Sinding – Rondo Infinito op.42

(b. Kongsberg, 11 January 1856 – d. Oslo, 3 December 1941)

Preface
Christian August Sinding hailed from Kongsberg, Norway, a community known especially for its silver mines. In fact, his father, Matthias Wilhelm Sinding, a mining engineer, founded his own sulphuric acid factory there in 1859. When Sinding’s father died shortly thereafter in 1860, his mother, Cecillie Marle Mejdell (1817-1886), and her five children moved to Kristiania (now Oslo) to be closer to her relatives. There Christian and his artistic brothers, Otto (1842-1909), an author and painter, and Stephan (1846-1922), a sculptor, honed their skills, eventually achieving considerable renown.
Coming from an artistic family, Sinding benefitted from the privilege of studying with some of the most distinguished teachers in Oslo, including Gudbrand Bøhn (violin), Betzy Fischer (piano), and Ludvig Mathias Lindemann (organ and harmony). At the age of 18, Sinding continued his studies at the estimable Leipzig Conservatory, where the music of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt greatly influenced him. A stipend from the Norwegian government allowed him to continue his education in Germany (1882-1885), namely in Dresden, Munich, and Berlin. Upon returning to Leipzig in 1886, Sinding met Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky (1851-1929) and Italian composer, pianist, conductor, writer, and teacher Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924), both of whom would have a significant impact on his success as a composer.

Following his formal education, performance of Sinding’s compositions were well received, particularly in Germany and Norway. On 19 January 1889, Brodsky and Busoni played Sinding’s Piano Quintet in Leipzig,1 and one month later on 23 February 1889, famed Norwegian pianist Erika Lie-Nissen performed his piano concerto in Berlin. Sinding’s success in Berlin continued in 1921 with a performance of his Third Symphony by the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of principal conductor Arthur Nikisch. This and other performances of his compositions throughout Europe proved pivotal: in 1921, the Norwegian government awarded Sinding an honorary stipend and three years later offered him a house on the premises of the Royal Palace in Oslo. This house, known as the “Grotten,” became his first permanent home since Sinding’s childhood, and the stipend ended years of pecuniary anxieties.

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