poy ating

A NA : AN ae os

mc

an IN

i i m

M,

Ny ae

HA I

VY ty Re. re

tg ; eN. 3 cc

ly

uN

| a

A) A

og

Concertmusic for Brass and Strings Concertino for Florn and Orchestra

Vienna Symphony Orchestra Franz Koch, horn

Professor Haefner, conductor

SPLP 515

: “Se, a LONG PLAYING — 30-1/3 RPM

VuULSAHDYO PUP NYOH 19} ONILYFDNOD SDNINLS PUE SSWUd 4} DISNWLYIDNOD — HLIWZGNIH 4 = uu Ur UY

PAUL HINDEMITH

CONCERTMUSIC for BRASS and STRINGS

CONCERTINO for HORN and ORCHESTRA

THE COMPOSER: Paul Hindemith, born in Hanau, Germany

in 1895, ranks easily as one of the five greatest contemporary

composers of the Twentieth Century. Having studied com-

position under Arnold Mendelsohn and Bernard Sekles at

Frankfurt-am-Main—he became conductor at the City Opera

of Frankfurt in 1915. His development as composer occurred

largely in turbulent post-war 1920's during the Weimar tfe-

public. An accomplished violist, he and his brother Rudolph

Hindemith, the ’Cellist, performed in many famous chamber

aggregations notably the famous Hindemith Trio, which at

one time consisted of Szymon Goldberg, Violin, Hindemith,

Viola, and Emanuel Feuermann, ‘Cello. Hindemith left

Germany in the early 1930's particularly since the Hitler

movement denounced his music as decadent and made further

performances impossible. Hindemith toured the rest of non- Hitler Europe and eventually came to settle in the United

States. In 1941 he became Professor of Music at Harvard

and is now engaged in teaching at Yale University. His works have been performed by every leading artist in the world and through the means of the Long-Playing record, a compre-

hensive selection of Hindemith’s music is now available to

the music lover. It is hoped that with these definitive per- formances of the Horn Concerto and Brass Music, these

works can now reach the wide audience they deserve.

The Compositions of Hindemith:

The study of Hindemith works can be identified with the whole problem of contemporary music. Hindemith, on the

one hand oriented toward atonality, polytonality and _poly- technic devices, all of which are idioms of 20th Century

music, retains strong romantic elements in many of his works.

It is difficult here to speak of periods in which one style pre-

dominates above the others. It might generally be said, how-

ever, that Hindemith’s early works, particularly the Sonatas

for Violin or Viola are strongly suggestive in their essential

romanticism of the works of Johannes Brahms and Max

Reger in the same form. With the coming of the disillusionment

of the postwar period (ca 1918-1926) a more jagged, atonal

and violent mood is evident in Hindemith’s works, as evi-

denced in the Sonata for Unaccompanied ‘Cello, The

“Schwanendreher’ Viola concerto and the first two String

Quartets. With greater maturity, Hindemith has now turned

toward an eclectic harmonic vocabulary which stresses mastery

of the most complicated polyphonic techniques, brilliant

effects in the solo instruments, particularly the winds (cf.

the Horn Concerto), and yet still retains a strong concept

of responsibility toward the performer, ie. music which is

payable within the technical limitations of the instrument.

Hindemith makes great demands, on all his performers, yet he

is never concerned with the sake of virtusosity as a means in

itself and many of his works are definitely written for the

use of non-professional musicians who can perform them for

their own enjoyment. This concept of “Gebrauchsmusik”’ is,

of course, one which dates back to the chamber music practices

of the Eighteenth Century and furnishes still another interest-

ing example of Hindemith’s orientation toward the music

‘of the 15th — 18th Centuries.

The two works, recorded here for the first time, represent

the best of Hindemith’s most developed style. Brilliant melodic

treatment, particularly in the strings and winds alternates with

lyrical, almost romantic passages. The Horn Concerto, probably

represents the most advanced writing for this instrument.

Notes: MICHAEL HAUPTMANN

OTHER NEW RELEASES: SPLP 510—-KODALY: Sonata for unaccompanied cello

SPLP 512—-PROKOFIEFF: Overture on a Hebrew Theme, Opus 34

SPLP 513—-PALESTRINA: Magnificat

SPLP 514—-THE VIVALDI CONCERTO: 5 Recently discovered works of

: i Peek Tae Fe * te ; a) #

PRET ee eT a Pe oe te ae ed ao te lla baie

Antonio Vivaldi in concerto style

a ae > a. ds ha dh ad api acai As s re 4a te a ae oe ee ae alt sc ask SE me > a PRED.

HINDEMITH — CONCERTMUSIC for BRASS and STRINGS u=u vurvuy

CONCERTINO for HORN and ORCHESTRA