Christian Sinding, Kirsten Flagstad, Gena Branscombe
“Composing is nothing, but writing letters is tedious business. When you compose music your intentions are mostly understood, but when you write you are never sure how your meaning will be construed .” (Christian Sinding, composer. Musical America , March 25, 1910) In that same March 1910 Musical America article with Sinding’s quote was a review of a salon concert presented by Gena Branscombe at the American Women’s Club of Berlin. This was a well-reviewed concert of her songs performed by Belle Forbes and A.C. Jackson. Christian August Sinding (1856-1941) is not well-known in today’s music world. Born in Norway, he eventually studied and lived in Germany coming under the influence of Wagner and Liszt. In his era, he was internationally acclaimed much like his fellow country man Edvard Grieg. His compositions included lyrical piano and chamber music works, symphonies, violin concerti, songs and ch...