Paul Hindemith
Biography
Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895, Hanau, Germany - 28 December 1963, Franfurt am Main) was a German composer and educator.
Hindemith studied conducting, composing, and violin with Arnold Mendelssohn and Bernhard Sekles at the Hoch Conservatory, supporting himself by playing in dance bands and musical-comedy troupes. From 1915 until 1923 he was the concertmaster of the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, and in 1929 he founded the Amar Quartet, playing viola.
He was instrumental in organising the Donaueschingen Festival, a new music festival that takes place every October in the small German town. The Donaueschingen Festival is the oldest festival for new music in the world. In the fifth year of the festival, Hindemith commissioned composers to write new works for winds, resulting in several ground-breaking compositions (amongst them Hindemith's own Konzertmusik fur Blasorchester, Opus 41, Křenek's Drei Lustige Märsche, and Toch's Spiel für Blasorchester.
Hindemith emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1940 and held teaching positions at Harvard and Yale Universities, becoming an American citizen in 1946. After World War II Hindemith relocated to Europe, taking a position at the University of Zurich.
Works for Winds
- Concert Music, op. 50 (tr. Duker) (1930/1978)
- Der Schwanendreher (1935)
- Geschwindmarsch by Beethoven (1946)
- Geschwindmarsch (arr. Mas Quiles) (1946/1975)
- Kammermusik Nr. 5 (1927/1955)
- Kammermusik Nr. 7 (1927/1956)
- Kleine Kammermusik (1922/1949)
- Konzertmusik fur Blasorchester, Opus 41 (1926)
- Konzertmusik für Klavier, Blechbläser und Harfen, Opus 49 (1930)
- Mathis der Maler (tr. Duker) (1934/1973)
- Morgenmusik (1932)
- Neues vom Tage Overture (arr. Rogers) (1929/)
- Nobilissima Visione (tr. Sweet) (1938/)
- Ragtime (tr. De Cinque) (1921/2016)
- Septet (1948/1949)
- Sonata (arr. Spede) (1938/2006)
- Sonata for Four Horns (1952)
- Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber (tr. Wilson) (1943/1972)
- March from "Symphonic Metamorphosis" (tr. Wilson) (1943/1972)
- Marsch from "Symphonic Metamorphosis" (tr. Ross) (1943/2012)
- Symphony in B-flat (1951)
- Symphony in E-flat (arr. Rogers) (1940/)
Resources
- Hindemith, Paul. (1952) A Composer's World Horizons And Limitations Digital Text.
- King, Allison E. The Reception of Paul Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of C.M. Von Weber. May 2020. Texas Christian University. Master of Music dissertation. Accessed 23 August 2021
- Miles, Richard B., and Larry Blocher. (2010). Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 1. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 952.
- Paul Hindemith website
- Paul Hindemith. Wikipedia. Accessed 6 August 2023