Not of the overlooked or underrated variety tonight, but a historic performance by one of the foremost composers of the mid-20th century.
Paul Hindemith performing his own Der Schwanenderher for viola and orchestra, with the Bern Orchestra conducted by Luc Balmer in this Radio Studio performance from August 29, 1939.
Paul Hindemith is among the most significant German composers of his time. His early works are in a late romantic idiom, and he later produced expressionist works, rather in the style of the early Schoenberg, before developing a leaner, contrapuntally complex style in the 1920s. This style has been described as neoclassical, but is quite different from the works by Igor Stravinsky labeled with that term, owing more to the contrapuntal language of Johann Sebastian Bach and Max Reger than the Classical clarity of Mozart.
The new style can be heard in the series of works called Kammermusik (Chamber Music) from 1922 to 1927. Each of these pieces is written for a different small instrumental ensemble, many of them very unusual. Kammermusik No. 6, for example, is a concerto for the viola d’amore, an instrument that has not been in wide use since the baroque period, but which Hindemith himself played. He continued to write for unusual groups of instruments throughout his life, producing (for example) a trio for viola, heckelphone and piano (1928), seven trios for three trautoniums (1930), a sonata for double bass, and a concerto for trumpet, bassoon, and strings (both in 1949).
In the 1930s Paul Hindemith began to write less for chamber music groups, and more for large orchestral forces. He wrote his opera Mathis der Maler, based on the life of the painter Matthias Grünewald, in 1933–1935. This opera is rarely staged, though a well-known production by the New York City Opera in 1995 was an exception. It combines the neo-classicism of earlier works with folk song. As a preliminary stage to the composing of this opera, Hindemith wrote a purely instrumental symphony also called Mathis der Maler, which is one of his most frequently performed works. In the opera, some portions of the symphony appear as instrumental interludes; others were elaborated in vocal scenes.
Conductor Luc Balmer (1898-1996) was the son of the painter Wilhelm Balmer. Following training with Hans Huber, Ernst Lévy, and Egon Petri at the Basel Cons. (1915–19), he attended Busoni’s master class in composition at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin (1921–22). He conducted the Kursaal in Lucerne (1928–32) and at the Zurich Opera (1932–35). Settling in Bern, he conducted at the Opera (1932–35), and then was conductor of the Orch. Assn. (1935–41) and the Music Soc. (1941–64); he also was on the staff of the Bern Radio (1938–68). In 1969 he was awarded the music prize of the City of Bern, and in 1986 the music prize of the Canton of Bern. His compositions, notable for their ludic craftsmanship, were in an accessible style. They include the opera Die drei gefoppten Ehemänner (1967–68), Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, other orch. works, and chamber pieces.
Enjoy some history for a Sunday night:
