Search - Paul Hindemith, Herbert Blomstedt, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra :: Symphonia Serena / Die Harmonie Der Welt

Hindemith: Serene and Heavenly

Thomas F. Bertonneau | Oswego, NY United States | 10/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rather more slowly than Yan Pascal Tortelier on Chandos, Herbert Blomstedt has been issuing a Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) cycle, with the San Francisco and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras, on Decca. The most recent disc in the series couples the "Symphonia Serena" (1946) with the Symphony "Harmonie der Welt" (1951), two fairly late works in the Hindemithian canon which nevertheless show the composer working in top form. "Symphonia Serena" opens with a beautiful, lengthy melody for solo horn; the adjective "serene" describes it perfectly. The rest of the movement develops this lovely theme in a way which, while corresponding to standard sonata-form, also manages to be an engaging theme-and-variations. A short, swift movement for winds alone follows, functioning as the symphony's scherzo; the basis for the movement is a quick-march that Beethoven wrote for the Austrian Cavalry. The slow movement, for strings, is quite unusual. It begins with a violin solo, answered in canon by an offstage violin solo; the string band then takes up the theme and develops it polyphonically. Next we hear a viola solo, answered in canon by an offstage viola; whereupon the band takes up the viola them, but pizzicato. Then the soli join in a kind of quartet. Finally, the legato violin-theme is joined to the pizzicato viola-theme and both unfurl in perfect counterpoint. The Finale brings the entire forces together in a jolly romp. "Harmony of the World" was Hindemith's opera on Johannes Kepler; as in the case of "Mathisder Maler," the orchestra suite, or symphony, appeared first (Furtwängler played it and a recording of his performance exists). The powerful fanfare that opens the First Movement sets the tone of the work. The Finale (Third Movement) is a mighty passacaglia along Bachian lines. It's a toss-up between Tortelier and Blomstedt. Both are superb performances superbly recorded."

Splendid Performances Of Hindemith's Late Symphonies

John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 12/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I haven't heard much of Hindemith's orchestral music before, so this CD is an extremely pleasent surprise. The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra gives electrifying performances of both works, that are vibrant and technically brilliant. Blomstedt is superb leading his forces through Hindemith's architecturally complex scores. I am inclined to agree with Amazon.com's reviewer that the first work sounds vaguely reminiscent of Vaughan Williams' late symphonies. The sound quality is absolutely superb."