Paul HINDEMITH (1895-1963)
Hindemith
is considered one of the most important composers of the first half of the 20th
century. Born in Hanau, Germany, to parents who encouraged the development of
their children’s musical talents, Hindemith began taking violin lessons at the
age of nine and was later enrolled at the Hoch Conservatory of Music in
Frankfurt. He was concertmaster for the Frankfurt Opera from 1915 to 1923,
except for a period of two years during the war where he was called into service
as part of the regimental band.
Of
the four founders of modernism (Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, Béla
Bartók, Paul Hindemith), Hindemith is arguably the most scholarly and
intellectual in temperament. His extensive theoretical interests included
medieval philosophy and writings of the early church as well as a wide range of
musical topics. In addition to being an accomplished composer, he was able to
play all the standard musical instruments and was a recognized virtuoso on both
the viola and the viola d’amore. His early compositions echoed the style of
the post-romantic era, though the style of his music was generally leaner. His
style later moved toward one of neoclassicism. By working variations on Bach, he
produced Kammermusiken, a series of seven chamber concerti of which some
paid conscious homage to the great composer. He also began exploring the
possibilities of chords built on fourths instead of the usual thirds.
By
the 1930s, Hindemith had consolidated his researches and began to produce a
series of masterpieces including Concert Pieces for Strings and Brass
(1930), the ballet Nobilissima Visione (1938), and a remarkable series of
sonatas for every major instrument. His interest in composing Gebrauchsmusik
(music for practical use rather than for art’s sake) put him in disfavour of
the rising Nazi party and he was subsequently forced out of Germany. In 1938 he
left for Switzerland and went on to England before finally settling in the
United States where he became head of the School of Music at Yale University.
The
1940s probably saw the peak of Hindemith’s output and critical reputation. His
masterpieces during this period include Symphony in E flat (1940), Sonata
for Two Pianos (1942), Symphonia Serena (1945), Ludus Tonalis
(1942), a tribute to Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, and a magnificent
series of concerti for all the major instruments. Among his peak’s most
significant compositions, we also find his choral masterpiece When Lilacs
Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d (1946), written on the death of President
Roosevelt to the complete Whitman poem.
After
the war, Hindemith left the United States for Switzerland. From then till his
death, he wrote several satirical pieces using 11-note and 13-note “rows” in
a futile attempt to change the direction of musical thoughts. His music was
becoming increasingly ignored, but he nevertheless produced the masterpieces Symphony
in B-flat for Band, the organ concerto Twelve Madrigals, and his last
work, a mass for unaccompanied chorus.
Although
no one took up advocacy of Hindemith’s work after his death the way Craft did
for Stravinsky or Boulez for Schoenberg, much of his music remains an intrinsic
part of today’s instrumentalists’ repertoire.
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