SACDs - Hindemith

The three orchestral scores gathered here are certainly among Paul Hindemith’s most well-loved works If his style in the 1920’s at times had struck listeners as sparse and utilitarian, in Mathis der Maler (from 1934) the musical language is more dramatic and more lyrically approachable than some of his earlier works, as well as more concerned with colour and light.

Some years later the frescoes on the life of St Francis of Assisi by another Renaissance painter, Giotto, became the inspiration for Nobilissima Visione.

In the final work on this disc, the musical quotes are more overt – and less distant in time. In the Symphonic Metamorphosis – probably his most often performed orchestral work today – Hindemith uses themes by Carl Maria von Weber, but treats them entirely in his own mature manner, producing a largely good-humoured orchestral showpiece.

The various qualities in these scores are brought out with typical the flair by the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and John Neschling. The team's numerous recordings of Villa-Lobos have met with universal acclaim, and their recently released disc of music by Respighi was called 'the best Roman Trilogy of recent times' in Classic FM Magazine.

Paul Hindemith’s first instrument was the violin, and so thoroughly did he master it that he rose to become leader of the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra at the age of 19. Even if his focus soon shifted to the viola and to composing, he continued to play and to write for the violin, creating a series of works that fascinatingly mirror the various stages in the development of his musical language, from the vocabulary of late romanticism to the monumental, revivified Baroque idiom of his maturity. In a generous selection of these works, the eminent violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, who in 2010 was awarded the international Paul Hindemith Prize of the City of Hanau, makes an eloquent case for them, from the Sonata in E flat, composed in 1918 while Hindemith was still serving in the German army on the Western Front, to the strikingly emotional Violin Concerto of 1939, written during his first year of exile from Nazi Germany. Besides the masterly Sonata in C, composed shortly before the Concerto, and the tuneful 1935 Sonata in E, Zimmermann also includes the Solo Sonata, Op.31 No.2, with its final movement a set of variations on a Mozart song. In the accompanied sonatas Zimmermann enjoys the support of a regular chamber music partner, the pianist Enrico Pace, whereas in the concerto he teams up with Paavo Järvi, another recipient of the Paul Hindemith Prize and principal conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Together they convey an unusually colourful, shimmering and passionate image of Paul Hindemith, in a commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of the composer.

This SACD presents main works of the repertoire for flute and piano from the 20th century. Regarding the history of the flute, this period is of particular interest since the flute underwent a remarkable revival as a solo instrument during this time.

The sonatas by Henri Dutilleux and Francis Poulenc represent the impulse for this development, which originated in France. In his series of sonatas for every melodic instrument, accompanied by piano, Paul Hindemith began with the flute. Frank Martin, the mediator between the German and French traditions, created a colourfully eloquent variant of the sonata form with his 'Ballad'. The sonata written by the American composer Robert Muczynski became the most famous example of his classicist, brilliant style.

Anne-Cathérine Heinzmann is one of the most renowned German flautists of her generation. She regularly performs as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician in Germany and across the globe. She is co-principal flute of the Opern- und Museumsorchester Frankfurt am Main; in addition, since October 2009 she has been Professor of Music at the Hochschule für Musik in Nuremberg.

Tabea Zimmermann commemorates the 50th anniversary of death of Paul Hindemith with the recording of his complete works for viola. Hindemith is regarded as a key composer for the instrument and was a famous violist, himself, and who premiered the viola concertos by Darius Milhaud and William Walton.

The works recorded here in Vol. 1 include the viola concerto 'Der Schwanendreher' that Hindemith composed at the time when he faced massive agitation by the Nazis, as well as the intimate and touching 'Trauermusik' (Music of Mourning), written for the funeral of King George V. Besides these celebrated works, the album also includes two lesser known concertos: the 'Kammermusik No. 5' and the early edition of the 'Konzertmusik' Op. 48a in its world premiere recording.

Tabea Zimmermann has teamed up with exceptional musical partners: the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, Berlin, conducted by Hans Graf, who dedicate themselves to Hindemith’s legacy. A second volume will include the sonatas for solo viola and for viola and piano and will be released as a double album in Autumn 2013.