Christian August Sinding
Christian Sinding (1856-1941) is often regarded as Grieg’s heir. With respect to compositional style, however, this view is incorrect. Although one certainly can find traces of Grieg’s earlier style in Sinding’s music, the pricipal influence was German Romanticism. That most of Sinding’s music later was left in neglect may be owing in large measure to the general reaction against Romanticism but also, perhaps, to the fact that during his lifetime he was somewhat overrated. The Grieg legacy could only be passed in to another Norwegian composer of similar international stature, and Sinding was expected to fill this role even though he probably was not equal to the task. Nonetheless, in his best works he displayed fine compositional skill.
Sinding was born into an artistically gifted family in Kongsberg, a small city near Oslo. His brother Otto was a painter, his brother Stephan a sculptor, and Christian’s musical talent was recognized at an early age. He first planned to become a professional violinist, taking violin lessons from Gudbrand Böhn and instruction in music theory from L.M. Lindeman while still a schoolboy. In 1987 he went to the Leipzig conservatory, where his teachers included Henry Schradiek in violin, and Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn in theory and composition.
He soon realized that his greater talent lay in composition, and he began to empasize this aspect of his education. Except from a few brief interruptions he remained in Leipzig for about four years. His studies did not lead to immediate success as a composer, however.
Sinding’s first successful work was his Piano Quintet in E minor (Op. 5), which was premieres in 1885. This was followed by his Variations in E-flat minor for two pianos (Op. 2), which was premiered in 1886, the Piano Concerto in D-flat major (Op. 6), which appeared in 1889, and his Symphony No. 1 in D minor (Op. 21), a work in progress for many years before it was premiered in 1890. These works won for Sinding a central role in the music life of Norway, and they were played frequently on the continent as well. He reached full artistic maturity, therefore, in the latter half of the 1880s after a lengthy period of development. Therefater he became a highly productive composer, eventually completing 132 works.
From 1880 onward Sinding received grants on a fairly regular basis from the Norwegian government. These grants, in addition to his income from C.F. Peters of Leipzig, the editorial firm that published his works, gave him some degree of financial stability. In 1910 he was awarded an annual government stipend, and in 1924 he was given Henrik Wergeland’s home, Grotten, as an honorary recidence (in Oslo). In 1921 he also received a special cash award from the government. That year he became professor of composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, but he remained in this position for just a few months.
Sinding spent almost forty years in long periods of residence in Germany and was closely tied to German music and German cultural circles in general. This undoubtedly explains in large part why, at the age of eighty-four (1940), he allowed himself to be exploited by the Nazis in the political propaganda that attended the German occupation of Norway.
Christian Sinding died in Oslo on December 3rd 1941.
Sinding was born into an artistically gifted family in Kongsberg, a small city near Oslo. His brother Otto was a painter, his brother Stephan a sculptor, and Christian’s musical talent was recognized at an early age. He first planned to become a professional violinist, taking violin lessons from Gudbrand Böhn and instruction in music theory from L.M. Lindeman while still a schoolboy. In 1987 he went to the Leipzig conservatory, where his teachers included Henry Schradiek in violin, and Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn in theory and composition.
He soon realized that his greater talent lay in composition, and he began to empasize this aspect of his education. Except from a few brief interruptions he remained in Leipzig for about four years. His studies did not lead to immediate success as a composer, however.
Sinding’s first successful work was his Piano Quintet in E minor (Op. 5), which was premieres in 1885. This was followed by his Variations in E-flat minor for two pianos (Op. 2), which was premiered in 1886, the Piano Concerto in D-flat major (Op. 6), which appeared in 1889, and his Symphony No. 1 in D minor (Op. 21), a work in progress for many years before it was premiered in 1890. These works won for Sinding a central role in the music life of Norway, and they were played frequently on the continent as well. He reached full artistic maturity, therefore, in the latter half of the 1880s after a lengthy period of development. Therefater he became a highly productive composer, eventually completing 132 works.
From 1880 onward Sinding received grants on a fairly regular basis from the Norwegian government. These grants, in addition to his income from C.F. Peters of Leipzig, the editorial firm that published his works, gave him some degree of financial stability. In 1910 he was awarded an annual government stipend, and in 1924 he was given Henrik Wergeland’s home, Grotten, as an honorary recidence (in Oslo). In 1921 he also received a special cash award from the government. That year he became professor of composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, but he remained in this position for just a few months.
Sinding spent almost forty years in long periods of residence in Germany and was closely tied to German music and German cultural circles in general. This undoubtedly explains in large part why, at the age of eighty-four (1940), he allowed himself to be exploited by the Nazis in the political propaganda that attended the German occupation of Norway.
Christian Sinding died in Oslo on December 3rd 1941.
SINDING CHRISTIAN-Piano Concerto in D
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(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Sinding)
Edwin York Bowen
Edwin York Bowen (22 February 1884 – 23 November 1961) was an English composer and pianist. Bowen’s musical career spanned more than fifty years during which time he wrote over 160 works. As well as being a pianist and composer, Bowen was a talented conductor, organist, violist and horn player. Despite achieving considerable success during his lifetime, many of the composer’s works remained unpublished and unperformed until after his death in 1961. Bowen’s compositional style is widely considered as 'Romantic' and his works are often characterized by their individuality and magnificently rich and profound harmonic language. He was one of the most natural and brilliant English composers of piano music of his time.
York Bowen was born in Crouch Hill, London, to a father who was the owner of the whisky distillers Bowen and McKechnie. The youngest of three sons, Bowen began piano and harmony lessons with his mother at an early age. His talent was recognised almost immediately and he soon began his musical education at the North Metropolitan College of Music. He subsequently went on to study at the Blackheath Conservatoire of Music with Alfred Izard. In 1898, at the age of fourteen, Bowen gained an Erard scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. He studied there until 1905, learning composition with Frederick Corder and piano with Tobias Matthay. While studying at the Royal Academy of Music Bowen won numerous awards including the Sterndale Bennett Prize and the Worshipful Company of Musicians Medal. In 1907 Bowen was awarded a fellowship to the Royal Academy of Music and two years later was appointed as professor.
In 1912 Bowen married Sylvia Dalton, a singer and the daughter of a Somerset vicar. Their son Philip was born a year later. During the First World War Bowen played in the Scots Guards Band but during service in France he contracted pneumonia and was forced to return to the UK. Bowen returned to composing and performing after the war and continued to work as a teacher, examiner, lecturer and adjudicator. He taught at the Tobias Matthay Piano School for over forty years and remained a professor at the Royal Academy of Music until his death in 1961. Among his students was the composer Derek Holman.
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