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CD reviews: The Hindemith 50th Anniversary

By Paul E. Robinson on August 28, 2014

Christoph Eschenbach_CD Cover

Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by C.M. von Weber/Violin Concerto/Concert Music for Strings and Brass Op. 50

Midori, violin
NDR Symphony Orchestra/Christoph Eschenbach

Ondine ODE 1214-2 (67:23)

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Seattle Symphony:Gerard Schwarz_CD Cover

Hindemith: Nobilissima Visione (complete ballet)/Five Pieces for String Orchestra

Seattle Symphony/Gerard Schwarz

Naxos 8.572763 (58:37)

Last year (2013) the classical music world paid homage to the 50th anniversary of the passing of Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), one of the foremost composers of the Twentieth Century. During his lifetime Hindemith was widely admired, not least of all for his opera Mathis der Maler, and the opposition it received from the Nazis, and his music was often performed.

However, since his death in 1963 Hindemith’s music has gradually disappeared from concert programs. Even the once-popular suite from Mathis der Maler became a rarity. Even now, after a somewhat muted acknowledgement of the 50th anniversary, there are few signs of a revival.

German conductor Christoph Eschenbach has been one of Hindemith’s most committed advocates. Several years ago he conducted a production of Mathis der Maler starring Matthias Goerne in the title role, and led several performances of Hindemith’s requiem based on Walt Whitman’s poetry and called “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.” Now comes an all-Hindemith CD on the Finnish label Ondine. To the surprise of many observers it won a Grammy award in the category of Best Classical Compendium.

I must confess that I am with the Surprised on this issue; I have no idea why this CD was selected for a Grammy. Eschenbach conducts very good performances of the two orchestral works but the Violin Concerto is a near-disaster. The main problem is Midori. There are several episodes of poor intonation, her quick vibrato is becoming quite annoying, and she simply lacks the forceful presence the piece requires. And the engineers have not done her any favours. This is one of those recordings where the dynamic range is so extreme one must be constantly adjusting the volume. When the solo violin plays the volume has to be cranked up and then turned down in the orchestral passages.

The Naxos all-Hindemith CD is one of the last recordings made by Gerard Schwarz in Seattle before he stepped down as music director. The repertoire is interesting. It is billed as the “First Recording of the complete ballet,” Nobilissima Visione (The Noblest Vision). But I have been advised by my friend Karl Miller who keeps track of such things, that there has been at least one other recording (Bamberg Symphony/Karl Anton Rickenbacher; Koch 3-1299-2H1).

The ballet score dates from 1936, just after Hindemith had finished work on the opera Mathis der Maler. It was a collaboration with Léonide Massine, and was based on the life of St. Francis of Assisi. The various episodes are consistently engrossing and the big passacaglia at the end – also included in the suite – is very impressive. The performance is quite good with particularly fine solo work by trombonist Ko-ichiro Yamamoto.

For something more…

There have been several recordings of the Hindemith Violin Concerto made over the years. The best of them is undoubtedly by David Oistrakh with the composer conducting.

But a notable 1966 live performance was recently released featuring Ivry Gitlis. It is part of an excellent set of Gitlis performances (2 CDs and 1 DVD) available on DOREMI DHR-7981-3.

Paul E. Robinson

Paul Robinson is the author of Herbert von Karajan: the Maestro as Superstar, and Sir Georg Solti: His Life and Music. For friends: The Art of the Conductor podcast, “Classical Airs.”

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Ondine | Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by C.M. von Weber/Violin Concerto/Concert Music for Strings and Brass Op. 50 available at hbdirect.com or  iTunes.

Naxos | Hindemith: Nobilissima Visione/Five Pieces for String Orchestra available at amazon.ca or iTunes.

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