Hindemith Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber

 Day 64

Hindemith Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber

Cleveland Orchestra

George Szell

Hindemith has a curious place in music history. If you read any music criticism from the inter-war years you will see that he is treated as an equal to Stravinsky and Schoenberg as the leading composer of the time. But over the years his reputation has gradually declined and now he occupies only a very minor position in the history of 20th century music.  I came across Hindemith at school attempting (not very successfully) the piano parts to accompany some of the instrumental sonatas that some of my friends were studying. I also got to know the Mathis der Maler symphony, which I quite fond of at the time though I don’t think I have heard it for many years.

I had heard about the Symphonic Metamorphoses (there is some dispute over the exact title of the piece) but I hadn’t heard them before, though the melody of the second movement seemed very familiar - perhaps I may have heard the original Weber. This is very much Hindemith in his more approachable neo-classical ‘abstract’ style - quite a remove from the expressionist works of the composer’s younger period. To be honest I found that much of this music was rather routine note-spinning. There is nothing of the character or piquancy of Stravinsky’s works of broadly the same period. Although it was originally conceived as a ballet that plan was abandoned and the piece became something of a showpiece for a virtuoso American orchestra. There’s something for every instrument in the score and it must be great fun to play but as a piece to listen to I found it less than compelling and even though I was following the score I did find my attention wandering at times.

There is plenty of other Hindemith to listen to and I will explore some of his extensive output sometime but for the moment there are other priorities.