Hindemith's Harmonie

[Karl Henning]

This recording of the original English text does look intriguing, indeed...

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Aye.

[Cato]

Hindemith's Opera Trilogy

Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra are gems ignored by too many Americans.

They have performed things (often for the first time in America)e.g. Franz Schmidt's Notre Dame, Sergei Taneyev's Oresteia, in addition to pushing the works of American composers past and present.

[Mirror Image]

Cross-posted from the 'Purchases' thread -

Blaming Karl, Part II:

[vandermolen]

Greatly enjoying this CD. Best performance I know of Mathis der Maler. I think that Steinberg was a fine conductor:
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[Karl Henning]

Greatly enjoying this CD. Best performance I know of Mathis der Maler. I think that Steinberg was a fine conductor:
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I owned that CD, back when  0:)

[Parsifal]

At the moment, I've decided to direct my limited listening time to going through the cpo Orchestral Music set, conducted by Werner Andreas Albert with a variety of Australian orchestras. (15 discs in all). Probably I've heard 1/3 of this music over the years in various recordings.

I've gotten through disc 1 and part of disc 2. That gets me Amor und Psyche, Noblissima Visione, Philharmonische Konzert, Metamorphosen of Karl Maria von Webern, and Lustige Sinfonietta. So far I am impressed with the sense of energy and rigor that Hindemith brings to the music. I hear music which is certainly tonal, but in which Hindemith introduces his own harmonic peculiarities. He gives me the impression of an artist with high ideals and ambitions, but with a touch of the iconoclast, producing music which often includes a wink, or a touch of irony or the sarcastic. Of the pieces I have listened to thus far, Listige Sinfonietta deserves mention. Written during the horrors of WWI by a 21 year old Hindemith, later depreciated by the composer and unperformed until 1980, it is overtly 'merry' as the title implies, but with hints of dark events in the background. So far, the performances strike me as well rehearsed and confident, and the audio is first rate.

[millionrainbows]

I remember someone saying that Hindemith was more fun to play than to listen to. This was my first Hidemith, and a "Music Minus One" play-along disc, with the Sonata for Flute and Piano.

[Parsifal]

I remember someone saying that Hindemith was more fun to play than to listen to.

I'd imagine that's true if you're listening to Glen Gould. 

[kishnevi]

That's the only Glenn Gould recording I positively dislike. (Some others are I merely meh, of course.)

[Karl Henning]

I remember someone saying that Hindemith was even more fun to play than to listen to.

FTFY.

[North Star]

I need to get around to listening to McCabe's Ludus Tonalis. I did start on the Amar's SQ cycle today, though.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I need to get around to listening to McCabe's Ludus Tonalis. I did start on the Amar's SQ cycle today, though.

Ludus Tonalis is one of my favorite pieces. On its surface it appears to be a pretty unapproachable work, a tough listen. But it took me just a few seconds to get acclimated and *boom* I never looked back.

[Karl Henning]

Ludus Tonalis is one of my favorite pieces.

+1

Of course, the quartets make for a rewarding listen, as well

[Parsifal]

Interesting that a limitation can spur creativity. I was listening to Hindemith's Konzertmuzik for Brass and String Orchestra (in the Albert recording on cpo) and was struck by the unique sonorities that Hindemith brings out from the somewhat peculiar performing ensemble (4 trumpets, 4 horns, 3 trombones, tuba and string orchestra). But of course, what is it but a more-or-less standard orchestra with the winds silent?

The Albert recording is superb.

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I have no memory of having listened to the piece before, although I find I have a few other recordings, notable Tortelier. I also find myself curious about an old recording made by the BSO (which commissioned the work).

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[Karl Henning]

It is a while since I've heard it, but I remember that Steinberg/BSO recording being very fine.

[Parsifal]

It is a while since I've heard it, but I remember that Steinberg/BSO recording being very fine.

Frustrating thing is I have Hindemith's own recording on EMI but it is buried in a self-storage unit where a major excavation would be necessary to unearth it.

[Karl Henning]

I feel ya (even while, it turns out, this is one I can find readily) . . . .

[Karl Henning]

So I've started reading (at long last) the Guy Rickards Hindemith, Hartmann & Henze Phaidon book.  I feel reasonably certain that I fetched the book in, on Cato's recommendation . . . and I bought it in October of 2014.  It seems to have gone to earth at the bottom of a sack, which then filled up with other articles. No surprise, I discovered it only when I went through that sack's contents yesterday.

In the time since buying the book, I have actually (at even longer last) listened to Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen and Das Nusch-Nuschi.  So I have an even better frame of musical reference for this start to the book.  In turn, the narrative is giving me improved context for the early string quartets and the Clarinet Quintet.

It's like falling in love with Hindemith's music all over again . . . .

[Parsifal]

I feel ya (even while, it turns out, this is one I can find readily) . . . .

I did manage to dig out my Hindemith conducts Hindemith sets (the 2CD EMI set and the 3CD DG set). I'm still making my way slowly through the cpo recordings, but quick comparisons with the composer conducted recordings suggests they are superb and in better sound than I expected.

I've gotten through the "Die Harmonie der Welt" symphony and the Symphony for Concert Band. Both are marvelous works, but the Concert Music for Winds and Strings remains the biggest revelation, so far. Maybe I will finish the current disc containing the Symphony in E-flat and take a break from Hindemith to avoid over-saturation. I'm thinking Barenboim/Brahms.

[kyjo]

I've begun making my way through the Hindemith quartet cycle - I've only heard the first three so far and I can already say that this is one of the most underrated SQ cycles out there. The Amar Quartet recordings on Naxos are superb. The early, newly-discovered 1st quartet is notable for its remarkable, haunting funeral march slow movement. The 2nd shows signs of neoclassicism but is still fundamentally Romantic - especially in the lovely second theme of the finale. The 3rd quartet - a masterpiece IMO - inhabits a darker, more chromatic world but is still thoroughly accessible.