Serenade

Christian Sinding (1856-1941): Serenade Willy Postma, harp Christian Sinding studied music first in Christiania before going to Germany, where he studied at the conservatory in Leipzig under Salomon Jadassohn and fell under the musical influences of Wagner and Liszt. He lived in Germany for much of his life, but received regular grants from the Norwegian government. In 1920--21 he went to the United States of America to teach composition for a season at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. In 1924 he was given Henrik Wergeland's former home, "Grotten" ("The Grotto"), as an honorary residence. He died in Oslo. Sinding's publishers required from him piano and chamber music, which has broader sales than the symphonic works he preferred. His own instrument was the violin. The large number of short, lyrical piano pieces and songs that Sinding wrote has led to many seeing him as the heir to his fellow countryman, Edvard Grieg, not so much in musical style but as a Norwegian composer with an international reputation. After his first piano sonata was premiered, a critic complained that it was "too Norwegian". Though Sinding is said to have replied that the next one would be even more so, specifically Norwegian folk-elements are not prominent in his richly contrapuntal post-Wagnerian orchestral style. Sinding is best remembered today for one of his piano works, Frühlingsrauschen (Rustles of Spring, 1896). Among his other works are four symphonies, three violin concertos, a piano concerto, chamber music, songs and choral works to Norwegian texts, and an opera, Der Heilige Berg (The Holy Mountain, 1914). Harpist Willy Postma was born in Amsterdam. After attending Schools in Rotterdam, Paris and New York, she came to Noway at an early age and has been affiliated with the Trondhein Symphony Orchestra since 1964. Prizewinner of the International Harp Competition in Israel in 1970 Postma has had an all-round career as soloist, chamber-music performer and teacher. Postma has recorded several CD albums and has been a frequent guest on television and radio programmes. In 1980 she started the Nordic countries' first harp class in Trondheim, a class she still conducts. Since 1991 she has been a teacher at the Norwegian State Academy of Music and since 1992 also at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Information and pictures were taken from the internet.