Paul Hindemith

[Roehre]

yes!

FG, if you find Hindemith "inoffensive" I would suggest a half hour in the company of Sancta Susanna.

Slightly adapted (set in a hospital in stead of in a convent) it would perfectly fit in an episode of Masters of Sex on ITV

[Suffolkcoastal]

Now there's an idea for a series of programmes, teams ... in which (an) advocate(s) on behalf of an apparently neglected/underappreciated composer attempt to persuade well-intended listeners of her/his worth through recorded/live examples. There's plenty of weasel-word usage there ('worth') but the lingo can be tightened up/relaxed later.

Words and music breaking down barriers - perfect for radio and very Radio3

Quite agree, proper informatibe programming something to make one think and make up one's own mind. Hindemith would certainly be the perfect composer to launch the series.

Sadly, though I could be surprised, this would probably now be considered too intellectual. The current R3 priorities are clearly shown by the record breaking years John Williams, Gershwin and J Strauss II have had this year

[jayne lee wilson]

Hindemith Orchestral Music (Dresden Philharmonic/Herbert Kegel, etc. 5CDs on Brilliant Classics, licensed from Berlin Classics).

Just released!

This is a glorious set which includes all the symphonies save the one for Concert Band, in performances which put those starrier conductors and orchestras to shame as they limit themselves to 2 or 3 works and offer them as orchestral displays. I'm not completely convinced that the glorious sonics of the Berlin Classics originals have been entirely preserved, but there's little in it. The Dresdeners sound like this music was written for them, rich, dark and characterful, fully textured and sonorous strings, winds well-foregrounded and thrillingly metallic brass with a real cutting edge. It's an oeuvre rich in expressive slow movements which come off especially well here; beyond the Apollonian elevations of Mathis or Harmonie der Welt, the central movement in the Pittsburgh Symphony could almost be an hommage a Charles Ives, with its plangent oboe solo and atmospheric string evocations interrupted by a raucous burst of popular song, which then sinks back into the mist.
Most of the performances were recorded in the spatially definitive acoustic of the Lukaskirche from 1980-87. You also get a marvellous Nobilissima Visione - I've never heard it better done - an excellent Schwandendreher (Lipka, Kegel, Leipzig RSO, 1970) and a warmly musical Weber Metamorphoses, not too showy (if you can stand its blithering ubiquity one more time)... from the Staatskapelle and Suitner in 1969.

A bonus 5th disc has a short Childrens' Opera, Wie bauen eine Stadt (We Are Building a City)...

A really great set, then, and a great bargain - and with a lovely piece of Nocturban Art Photography on the cover. The Tortelier Orchestral Series on Chandos is equally wonderful in its own way but - it doesn't have that Lukaskirche Dresden sound to glory in... and it hasn't yet been reissued in a bargain form so remains expensive. Absolutely worth it, but this new Brilliant set has far more atmospheric sound and more expressive performances than the Australian CPO ones (whose chief attraction is their range of rarer repertoire).

[Bryn]

Thanks for the fillip, jlw. Duly ordered to supplement my CPO and (Hindemith conducting) DGG sets.

Here's the full listing:

http://www.brilliantclassics.com/release.aspx?id=FM00078567

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

If the MP3 quality is acceptable, Amazon has the set on sale for pennies:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Staatskapelle-Rundfunk-Vorschulkinderchor-Rundfunk-Kinderchor-Rundfunk-Inst-Rundfunk-Sinfonie/dp/B00DXZS50G/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&sr=1-1&keywords=hindemith

[Bryn]

If the MP3 quality is acceptable, Amazon has the set on sale for pennies:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Staatskapell...ords=hindemith

Indeed, 599 of them, no less.

I chose the Selections route from the marketplace offerings. Just over twice as much, but lossless, on disc, and in nicer packaging.

[BBMmk2]

thank you JLW, for the thumbs up from BC> It makes a good case for PH's music. I am also thinking for brass and wind band of a transcription of his Harnmonie der Welt, perhaps?

[makropulos]

Hindemith Orchestral Music (Dresden Philharmonic/Herbert Kegel, etc. 5CDs on Brilliant Classics, licensed from Berlin Classics).

A really great set, then, and a great bargain - and with a lovely piece of Nocturban Art Photography on the cover. The Tortelier Orchestral Series on Chandos is equally wonderful in its own way but - it doesn't have that Lukaskirche Dresden sound to glory in... and it hasn't yet been reissued in a bargain form so remains expensive. Absolutely worth it, but this new Brilliant set has far more atmospheric sound and more expressive performances than the Australian CPO ones (whose chief attraction is their range of rarer repertoire).

I completely agree - and there's not only the Dresden sound but also Kegel's superb rhythmic control. What a tremendous conductor he was. I was lucky to be sent this just before reviewing the recent Hyperion Hindemith disc (Brabbins) which doesn't compare favourably, at least not in terms of interpretative insights in the Mathis symphony. Another highlight (as well as those you've mentioned) is the beauitiful performance of the Sinfonia serena.

Incidentally, off-topic, Brilliant has also just reissued Kegel's Gurrelieder which I like enormously:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schoenberg-Dresden-Philharmonic-Orchestra-Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester/dp/B00DUPU6U6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388396803&sr=8-1&keywords=kegel+gurrelieder

[Don Petter]

I am just ordering the Hindemith Brilliants on the recommendations here.

I note that the DG 3CD set of 'Hindemith conducts Hindemith', which I also wouldn't want to be without, is still available from Amazon for £12.99. I would recommend this to all who are interested in the composer, as a complement to the more recent recordings by modern conductors.

[Bryn]

I am just ordering the Hindemith Brilliants on the recommendations here.

I note that the DG 3CD set of 'Hindemith conducts Hindemith', which I also wouldn't want to be without, is still available from Amazon for £12.99. I would recommend this to all who are interested in the composer, as a complement to the more recent recordings by modern conductors.

Seconded. Grab it while you can.

[Stephen Smith]

I note that the DG 3CD set of 'Hindemith conducts Hindemith', which I also wouldn't want to be without, is still available from Amazon for £12.99. I would recommend this to all who are interested in the composer, as a complement to the more recent recordings by modern conductors.

Pleasing to note its currently cheaper at Presto Classical, (UK)- and also free delivery over £25 orders at the moment.

[Bryn]

yes!

FG, if you find Hindemith "inoffensive" I would suggest a half hour in the company of Sancta Susanna.

Or, if you have the balls dot it, 'Das Nusch-Nuschi'. 'Sancta Susanna' currently spinning here, (Susan Bullock etc so).

[jayne lee wilson]

Yes, and Cardillac is scarcely bloodless either. Coming up here later on Wergo... libretto in German only, but the Opera D'Oro live Mono 1968 one (Fischer-Dieskau, Keilberth etc., haven't heard it yet) has parallel German/English texts. You can download the text to your Kindle if you have one.

Do seek out dear Michael Oliver's wonderfully witty and insightful reviews of these operas in Gramophone 4/82 and 7/89.
(re. Nusch-Nuschi - "You really won't ask me about the plot will you? [....] I did warn you...")