Search - Louisville Orchestra :: Hindemith: Kammermusik #2, Konzertmusik for Viola, Piano Concerto

Great (and rare) compositions, superb readings, fine sonics

Discophage | France | 01/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I find the music of Paul Hindemith unjustly neglected by the recording companies and, presumably, by the music lovers, even those interested in modern music. This statement may sound outlandish in view of the innumerable recordings made of his Mathis der Maler-Symphony or Weber-Metamorphoses. But there is much, much more to Hindemith than just these few warhorses, and most of it is very, very good. It is also, compared to, say, Bartok, vastly under-recorded, and this collection of Louisville recordings is a case in point. Not so much for the Kammermusik No. 2 Op. 36/1 for piano, if only because there have been a number of recordings of the complete set of Kammermusiken, including Chailly's (Paul Hindemith: Kammermusik Nos. 1-7) and Abbado's (Hindemith: Kammermusic 1-7 / Der Schwanendreher). But with the Konzertmusik op. 48 for Viola and large Orchestra (not to be confused with the Kammermusik op 36/4) and the Piano Concerto, there are no more than two or three competing versions for each on CD, not always easily available. Yet these are all superb compositions.



Why is Hindemith's such fine music? First, as with Bartok (and unlike, say, Krenek), there is an unmistakable Hindemith sound: once you've become familiar with his style, you'll unmistakably recognize it in a few seconds, whatever the instrumental combination. Second, whether it is the early and firebrand Hindemith or the later, mature, toned-down and classically-minded composer, the language is highly appealing, sweepingly dramatic, muscular, propelled by an unrelenting forward-drive, elaborately wrought. So, whatever the reasons why he has been, compared to Bartok or Schoenberg or Stravinsky, relatively neglected, today Hindemith can be enjoyed for what he was: an inimitably individual composer.



Even the Louisville Orchestra came late to recording Hindemith: these date from 1968, 1969 and 1987. The Piano Concerto has already been released on CD, part of the small batch of ten CDs published by the Orchestra's label when it attempted the move to the new medium in the late 1980s (Paul Hindemith - Concerto for Piano / Donaldson V Lawhead - Aleost / Ellen Taaffe Zwilich - Symphony No 2 (First Edition)). But this coherent, one-composer program is much more attractive.



Kammermusik No. 2 op. 36/1 from 1924 is a concerto for piano and chamber orchestra. Something of the provocative firebrand remains. It has an irresistible motoric energy and, in the piano part, and elaborate Bach-inspired counterpoint and muscularity. For comparison I've taken out of my shelves Chailly's much-lauded complete recording of the Kammermusiken with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. I prefer the Louisville disc. First, the cruder and more glaring sonics befit the piece ideally - every orchestral and piano detail comes out clear and glaring as under a bright spotlight, and that kind of exposure is exactly what the piece needs (the opening drone - what is it, bassoon and trombone? - is strikingly present). Under Chailly it is all more comfortable and distant. And Mester and Luvisi have the perfect drive - their tempo to the first movement is the same as Chailly's, to the second, and their finale, notated "quick sixteenth note" is even faster - and, thanks to the sonics, much more biting. Luvisi also has exactly the kind of muscularity of attack and clarity of articulation that the Bach-inspired part demands.



The 1945 Piano Concerto is an illustration of the more toned-down and gentle Hindemith, but all the hallmarks of his style are present: an alternately muscular and merrily whimsical, but always highly-wrought piano part, sardonically biting brass, motoric drive, climaxes of sweeping dramatic grandeur. I'm aware of only one other studio recording available on CD, conducted by Werner Andreas Albert on Cpo (Paul Hindemith: The Four Temperaments, for Piano & Strings / Piano Concerto - Siegfried Mauser), and one old live recording from 1949 by Celibidache conducting the Berlin Philharmonic crops up regularly on various bootleg labels - I have its first CD release on Nuova Era, not listed here apparently. Its antiquated sonics and sometimes ragged ensemble playing put the latter out of the running anyway. As for Albert, though he may have an edge in the sheer grandeur of the orchestral climaxes, here again it is the Louisville recording (conducted this time by Lawrence Leighton-Smith) that I prefer, for the same reasons as above: clearer and more detailed sonics, and more drive (noticing that the slow middle section of the finale lasted 4:15 with Albert and 2:20 with L-S, I thought the latter must have cuts. Well, apparently not).



Konzertmusik op. 48 was composed in 1930, part of a triptych including the more famous Konzertmusik op. 50 for brass and strings, and the rare Konzertmusik op 49 for piano, two harps and brass. Its woodwind-dominated textures exude a perky and sarcastic mood, but it has the all the typical motoric climaxes, while the viola brings its own, plangent color, especially in the second movement. I don't have the two competing studio recordings to compare this one with (Hindemith: Viola Vorks Vol.1 and Hindemith: Viola Concertos), the only other version I have is a live recording from 1963 with Georg Schmid that was published by Schwann-Musica Mundi in 1987 - and the label didn't let you know who conducted, of Robert Heger or Rafael Kubelik (Hindemith: Virtuose Werke für Bratsche). Anyway, Raphael Hillier and Mester win again hands down - and it's not just a question of better sonics. Just take the movement marked "lebhaft" (lively) as a pointer : 2:24 with Hillyer, 2:47 with Schmid.



Strangely, there seems to be a discrepancy between the sonics of the orchestra and the soloist. The former is bright and present as in the other recordings, but the viola has more reverb, as if recorded in a very large hall. And, as with other First Edition Music transfers, I hear over headphones, in the softer passages, some soft clicks sounding like the surface noise of a very clean LP, which, if the case, belies the labels claim that the transfers were made directly from the master tapes.



Still, this is a case where First Edition Music's policy of collating coherent, one-composer programs from various Louisville LPs takes all its meaning: the sum is even greater than the individual parts. This belongs to any serious Hindemith collection.

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