{"id":20217,"date":"2014-08-28T13:35:20","date_gmt":"2014-08-28T17:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=20217"},"modified":"2014-08-28T13:35:20","modified_gmt":"2014-08-28T17:35:20","slug":"cd-reviews-the-hindemith-50th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2014\/08\/28\/cd-reviews-the-hindemith-50th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"CD reviews: The Hindemith 50th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Christoph<\/a><\/p>\n

Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by C.M. von Weber\/Violin Concerto\/Concert Music for Strings and Brass Op. 50<\/strong><\/p>\n

Midori, violin<\/strong>
\nNDR Symphony Orchestra\/Christoph Eschenbach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ondine ODE 1214-2 (67:23)<\/strong><\/p>\n

******************************************<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Seattle<\/a><\/p>\n

Hindemith: Nobilissima Visione (complete ballet)\/Five Pieces for String Orchestra<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seattle Symphony\/Gerard Schwarz<\/strong><\/p>\n

Naxos 8.572763 (58:37)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last year (2013) the classical music world paid homage to the 50th<\/span>\u00a0anniversary 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,\u00a0<\/em>and the opposition it received from the Nazis, and his music was often performed.<\/p>\n

However, since his death in 1963 Hindemith\u2019s music has gradually disappeared from concert programs. Even the once-popular suite from Mathis der Maler<\/em> became a rarity. Even now, after a somewhat muted acknowledgement of the 50th<\/span>\u00a0anniversary, there are few signs of a revival.<\/p>\n

German conductor Christoph Eschenbach has been one of Hindemith\u2019s most committed advocates. Several years ago he conducted a production of Mathis der Maler<\/em> starring Matthias Goerne in the title role, and led several performances of Hindemith\u2019s requiem based on Walt Whitman\u2019s poetry and called \u201cWhen Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom\u2019d.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cFirst Recording of the complete ballet,\u201d Nobilissima Visione<\/em> (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<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The ballet score dates from 1936, just after Hindemith had finished work on the opera Mathis der<\/em> Maler<\/em>. It was a collaboration with L\u00e9onide 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 \u2013 also included in the suite – is very impressive. The performance is quite good with particularly fine solo work by trombonist Ko-ichiro Yamamoto.<\/p>\n

For something more\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n