Sinding studied music in Oslo before settling in Germany, where he studied under Salomon Jadassohn at the Leipzig Conservatory. He spent most of his life in Germany but received regular financial support from Norway. In 1920 and 1921 he went to the USA and taught composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

Since he composed many lyrical piano works and approx. 250 songs, many saw him as the successor to Edvard Grieg. One of his most famous works is “Frühlingsrauschen” from 1896. Among his other compositions that are still performed there are four symphonies, three violin concerts, a piano concert, chamber music and an opera, “Der heilige Berg”, from 1914.