Paul Hindemith

[teamsaint]

Well in this anniversary year for Hindemith, he goes unrecognised at the Proms. Better educated people than me think this is an injustice. I remember somebody(SC) recently mentioning that back in the 1960's (?) he was mentioned in Grove as on of the five most important composers of the century (or something similar).It's a fickle world.
So, I'm keen to learn. There is lots to listen to online of course, but the wisdom of board members is always welcome. What would you recommend? what to look out for in the music? Where is the continuity with other composers?

Anyway, would be intrigued to hear wise thoughts, as an aid to listening.
And to put right that Proms injustice , I think I'll put some time by for some Hindemith on some of the Wagner nights in July/August !!
Thanks.
TS

[Nick Armstrong]

Hmmmm.... I've tried over the years.

My starting point was the March from his "Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber" - cracking performance from Blomstedt/San Francisco SO, one of my favourite orchestral showpiece numbers....

But in my case, that's where it's stayed. I've not been able to get into anything else - he's just one of those composers whose turns of phrase by and large say nothing to me

Best 'starter kit' for orchestral music probably this: inc the above performance

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hindemith-Orchestral-Works-Paul/dp/B0000C6IW2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366554279&sr=8-1&keywords=hindemith+blomstedt

[Anna]

So, I'm keen to learn. There is lots to listen to online of course, but the wisdom of board members is always welcome. What would you recommend? what to look out for in the music? Where is the continuity with other composers?

Well, to be honest, he does seem to recycle a lot of stuff .... how about you start with the string quartets? And I say that because to me, he's ok, but not special. I hope others leap to his defence.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

And I say that because to me, he's ok, but not special.

Yes, that's how I react, too: I enjoy listening to most of his Music, but (one or two of his earlier, semi-disowned works aside) I can't get very excited by it. He's not nearly as good as he was once thought, but not nearly so bad as to be so neglected as he is today.

I hope others leap to his defence.

So do I.

[makropulos]

I've loved Hindemith's music ever since playing the Meditation from "Nobilissima Visione" as a kid in Hindemith's own arrangement for viola and piano. Anyhow, a few suggestions:
Mathis der Maler Symphony (Luminous scoring, memorable ideas)
Trauermusik (written for George V's funeral; a piece for viola and strings that I find deeply moving)
Symphonic Metamorophosis [n.b. singular] on Themes by Weber (fun)
Nobilissima Visione (a ballet score about St Francis of Assisi)
Konzertmusik Op. 50
Piano Sonata No. 3
Organ Sonata No. 3
Cello Concerto

I hope you like some of these pieces - I must I've grown to love them, and plenty of other pieces. There's a lot more - not all of it at the same level, it has to be said.

[BBMmk2]

Symphnia Serena(Harmonie der Welt); Organ Sonata No.2; Pittsburgh Symphony; Symphonic Metarmorphoses on themes by Weber.

Well, imo, Chandos has done a very series of his orchestral music. Well worth acquiring. BBC PO/Tortelier.

[amateur51]

Symphnia Serena(Harmonie der Welt); Organ Sonata No.2; Pittsburgh Symphony; Symphonic Metarmorphoses on themes by Weber.

Well, imo, Chandos has done a very series of his orchestral music. Well worth acquiring. BBC PO/Tortelier.

Spot the all-important missing adjective folks!

What can BBM be meaning?

A Nation (and Chandos) holds its breath

[Nick Armstrong]

Symphonic Metamorophosis [n.b. singular]

I confess to having lazily pasted the title, copied from here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...=dm_mu_dp_trk8



TS I'd say that link is worth 79p of anyone's hard-earned

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I've loved Hindemith's music ever since playing the Meditation from "Nobilissima Visione" as a kid in Hindemith's own arrangement for viola and piano. Anyhow, a few suggestions:
Mathis der Maler Symphony (Luminous scoring, memorable ideas)
Trauermusik (written for George V's funeral; a piece for viola and strings that I find deeply moving)
Symphonic Metamorophosis [n.b. singular] on Themes by Weber (fun)
Nobilissima Visione (a ballet score about St Francis of Assisi)
Konzertmusik Op. 50
Piano Sonata No. 3
Organ Sonata No. 3
Cello Concerto

I hope you like some of these pieces - I must I've grown to love them, and plenty of other pieces. There's a lot more - not all of it at the same level, it has to be said.

Good call, makro - the Trauermusik was originally a Viola and Piano work that he wrote in an afternoon to make a more suitable programme for a BBC recital broadcast shortly after the death of the king. I don't know the piano sonatas (there's a Glenn Gould recording that I've been pondering), but I've played in - or turned pages for - many of the other works on your list.

[jayne lee wilson]

I had a big craze for Hindemith (I think Bryn feels the same...) a few years ago and bought 5 volumes of the Chandos/Tortelier series - there's scarcely a weak point anywhere, and the big moments in Nobilissima or the Op.50 Strings/Brass thing come off brilliantly - the latter can knock you out of your chair! But I already had the CPO Complete Orchestral Box with Werner Andreas Albert & a variety of Australian orchestras.
I've played both a great deal - The Tortelier almost always has that bit more life and warmth (outstanding Cello & Violin Concertos), the Albert can seem a little dull and routine, if useful as a different view. The only minor drawback to the Chandos is a slightly studio-ish, impersonal distancing to the otherwise stunning, VERY wideranging recordings. In practice it means the higher the volume the better; if you don't use very high volumes then just try one - the Cello Concerto/4 Temperaments would a good start as the smaller ensemble in the latter gets a closer focus & presence.
(All available as lossless downloads at TCS or CD).

DG issued a 3-disc "Original Masters" Hindemith conducts Hindemith box mainly with the Berlin Phil from the 1950s - colour and character to spare!

Don't forget the 6 String Quartets - I have the ripely-recorded Kocian Qt on Praga. Delving among these pages is worth anyone's time-and-a-half.

[Beef Oven]

I have one CD. A Deutsche Grammophon 20th Century Classics. Been in my collection circa 25 years and although I love the music, I have never thought to add to it.

Concert Music For Strings & Brass

Symphony: Mathis Der Maler

Der Schwanendreher

[EdgeleyRob]

Well, to be honest, he does seem to recycle a lot of stuff .... how about you start with the string quartets? And I say that because to me, he's ok, but not special. I hope others leap to his defence.

Hope I don't get into trouble for this but borderline ok for me.
I have heard a few bits and bobs over the years but confess to having no music by Hindemith on my shelves.
He is on my 'keep plugging away at' list (along with Sibelius)but I have not felt inclined to do any away plugging for a long while.
My loss probably.

[Petrushka]

I was present at a 1995 Prom given by Abbado and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and was thrilled by the encore that they gave. I had no idea what it was so asked a member of the orchestra after the concert. It turned out to be the Passacaglia from Noblissima Visione by Hindemith.

I subsequently bought the CD of Hindemith orchestral works recorded by Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Philadelphia Orchestra but have never investigated further. Incidentally, 1995 was also a Hindemith anniversary year (his centenary) and I heard Sawallisch and the Philadelphians give the Cello Concerto at the Proms.

The only other occasion I've heard his work in concert was in 2004 when Bernard Haitink and the Dresden Staatskapelle performed the Symphonic Metamorphosis.

The Sawallisch disc is enough for me.

[umslopogaas]

Hindemith isnt someone who immediately springs to mind in the context of musical humour, but try 'Ouverture zum "Fliegenden Hollander"'. My copy is on Wergo, CD WER 6197-2 286 197-2. The full title translates something like "The overture to the Flying Dutchman, as played by a hung-over village wind band at seven in the morning." It is just recognizable as Wagner's overture, is excruciatingly out of tune and I find it very funny. Confusingly, the work is actually for string quartet. I played it to my brother in law, who is much more musical than me, and he actually flinched several times.

[Suffolkcoastal]

The 3rd Piano Sonata was on TTN last week (where most of what little Hindemith is broadcast is banished these days), still time to catch up with it on the iplayer. It took me a while admittedly to get into Hindemith, you have to persevere and all of a sudden it clicks. That Chandos series certainly was an ear opener, though my first CD of his music was a DG CD of Bernstein conducting Mathis der Maler, the Symphonic Metamorphosis and Konzertmusik for Brass and Strings which I still play fairly regularly. His was certainly among the finest teachers of the 20th Century though he was a very demanding and exacting one and a phenomenal musician. Perhaps not an absolutely key figure in 20th century music, but still a very important one, and his absence from the Proms is insulting. He seems to have had a number of his works programmed during the 1990s Proms which coincided with the important Chandos releases.
My favourite works of his are the Violin & Cello Concertos, Mathis der Maler Symphony, Symphony in E flat, Sinfonia Serena, Symphonic Dances, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd and Das Marienleben. I still need to explore his chamber and instrumental music more fully, which is something I intend to do this year.