Konzertmusik fur Blasorchester, Opus 41

From Wind Repertory Project
Paul Hindemith

Paul Hindemith


This work bears the designation Opus 41.


General Info

Year: 1926
Duration: c. 14:30
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Schott Music
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental   |   Study Score Only: $27.95


Movements

1. Konzertante Ouvertüre - 5:30
2. Sechs Variatione über das Lied “Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter” - 6:20
3. Marsch - 2:30


Instrumentation

Full Score
Piccolo (Flute)
Oboe
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
B-flat Flugelhorn I-II (or Soprano and/or Alto Saxophone )
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II-III
B-flat Tenor Horn I-II (or Wagner Tuba or Tenor Saxophone)
Euphonium (or Bass Clarinet)
Tuba I-II
Percussion I-II, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Hindemith’s work Konzertmusik für Blasorchester was written for the 1926 Donaueschingen Music Festival under the patronage of Fürst Fürstenburg. It was premiered on July 24th by the Infantry Regiment No. 14 student military band under the baton of Herman Scherchen, to whom the piece is dedicated. The piece was written to follow one of the themes of the festival, which was military music. Other works featured on the same concert included: A Suite for Trumpet, Saxophone, and Trombone by Ernst Pepping; Spiel für Blasorchester, Op. 39 by Ernst Toch; and Drei lustige Märsche, Op. 44 by Ernst Krenek.

The scoring of Konzertmusik was for a German military band, which calls for more "mellow" brass and fewer woodwinds than the standard concert band. Flugelhorns and tenor horns were used in place of the entire saxophone family. The entire work contains many different musical forms with the opening movement, Konzertante Ouvertüre, being the most complex in terms of harmonic language. It begins with a slow introduction, which develops contrapuntally in the main body of the movement. Secondary melodic material is introduced next, followed by the coda, which ends the movement with the original material.

The climax of the piece occurs in the second movement in which borrowed material appears for the first time. Hindemith uses the popular Austrian folk-song Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter (Prince Eugen, the Noble Knight), in variation form. He writes six variations of this folk-song, including a funeral dirge in variation V and a fugato in variation VI. The last movement of the piece, Marsch, is in song and trio form.

- Program Note from University of Texas Wind Ensemble concert program, 22 November 2015


This work is dedicated to Hermann Scherchen who conducted the premiere at the 1926 Donaueschingern Festival. Hindemith intended the work as Gebrauchmusik, music for amateurs. The piece in actuality is quite difficult. It is cast in three movements: I. Konzertante Overtüre, II. Sechs Variationen über dal Lied "Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter", and III. Marsch.

During this time period Germany was led by the Weimar Republic which allowed for exploration in arts such as Franz Lang's movie Metropolis. Hindemith was still developing his style at this point. In 1925, he composed Overture on “The Flying Dutchman" as it is Performed by a Terrible Health Resort Band at 7 am at the Village Fountain, which shows influences of dadaism.

- Source of note unknown


Konzertmusik in an intriguing work that highlights Hindemith's commitment to counterpoint and his innovative approach to derived scale structures. While the vocabulary is modern, an undeniable sense of lyricism drives musical development in this piece. Seasoned performers are required for the technically and expressively demanding parts.

- Notes from Great Music for Wind Band


After World War I, there was a dramatic shift in European culture, aesthetic and ideology. The shift was seen in music, as well as in architecture, painting, literature, and other arts. In essence, these artists produced works that sought to deconstruct and leave behind what was left of European Romanticism. In music, many composers developed a belief that it was their responsibility to write music that reflected their reality: a fractured society attempting to crawl out of the rubble of what was, at the time, the most catastrophic event they had ever known. Music could no longer be nice, romantic or pleasant because the world was no longer nice, romantic or pleasant. It goes without saying that this shift in musical aesthetic created a large chasm between these expressionist composers and the "general public."

Paul Hindemith's reputation as the foremost German contemporary composer of his generation was solidified after the performance of his music at the 1921 Donaueschingen music festival, after which he was appointed artistic director of the festival. He firmly believed that the gap between composers and the general public could be bridged if composers wrote music for a specific purpose, hence his initial emphasis on gebrauchmusik (his opinions of such music shifted over time). This belief eventually manifested in the 1926 Donaueschingen festival featuring wind music, as Hindemith believed that wind music had largely been pushed aside or ignored up to that point.

Konzertmusik für Blasorchester, Op. 41, was Hindemith's first composition for wind ensemble. Its three movements carry with it a complexity that sets itself apart from the other works on the Donaueschingen 1926 program. The first movement begins with a satirical fanfare, which unfolds into a sonata-form-concerto-grosso allegro. The second movement ravels through six variations of the popular German fold song Prince Eugene, the Noble Knight, while exploring the various timbral possibilities of the ensemble. The work concludes with a parody of a German march, a rather tongue-in-cheek presentation of the typical band fare of the early twentieth century. It is clear from the outset of the movement that there is nothing ordinary about Hindemith's presentation, and in fact it would seem as if he is musically "thumbing his nose" at the early twentieth century band traditions.

- Program Note from University of Miami Frost Wind Ensemble concert program, 27 October 2016


The opening movement serves as an overture for the work and combines the full forces of the ensemble with delicate soloistic passages in trumpet and trombone. Music alternates between sweeping, lyrical lines and angular phrases. Movement two is a set of variations on the song Prince Eugene the Noble Knight. Within the sixth variation, Hindemith employs a complex fugue that winds through nearly one quarter of the movement, before dissolving into a concluding ostinato. The final movement is a rousing march that Hindemith intended as a parody of band music at the time. Each movement showcases Hindemith’s undeniable mastery of counterpoint.

- Program Note from Oklahoma State University Wind Ensemble concert program, 17 March 2017


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Tx.) Meadows Wind Ensemble (Jack Delaney, conductor) - 31 March 2023
  • New England Conservatory (Boston, Mass.) Wind Ensemble (Charles Peltz, conductor) - 6 October 2022
  • University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) Symphony Band (Michael Haithcock, conductor) - 4 February 2022
  • Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Sarah McKoin, conductor) - 5 May 2021
  • University of North Texas (Denton) Wind Orchestra (Andrew Trachsel, conductor) - 1 April 2021
  • Illinois State University (Normal) Wind Symphony (Anthony C. Marinello III, conductor) - 28 February 2021
  • University of Miami (Fla.) Frost Wind Ensemble (Robert Carnochan, conductor) - 18 October 2020
  • Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tenn.) Wind Symphony (Thomas Verrier, conductor) – 13 March 2020
  • Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Mallory Thompson, conductor) – 18 October 2019
  • State University of New York, Potsdam, Crane Wind Ensemble (H. Robert Reynolds, conductor) – 26 April 2019
  • University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony (Kevin Michael Holzman, conductor) – 2 March 2019
  • San Francisco Wind Symphony (Martin H. Seggelke, conductor) – 9 February 2019
  • University of South Florida (Tampa) Wind Ensemble (John C. Carmichael, conductor) - 24 April 2018
  • University of Southern California (Los Angeles) Thornton Wind Ensemble (H. Robert Reynolds, conductor) - 13 April 2018
  • Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.) Wind Ensemble (Thomas Caneva, conductor) – 23 March 2018
  • University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) Wind Ensemble (Emily Threinen, conductor) – 21 April 2017
  • Eastman School of Music (Rochester, N.Y.) Wind Ensemble (Mark Scatterday, conductor) – 3 April 2017
  • State University of New York, Potsdam, Crane Wind Ensemble (Brian K. Doyle, conductor) – 20 March 2017
  • Oklahoma State University (Stillwater) Wind Ensemble (Joseph Missal, conductor) – 17 March 2017 (CBDNA 2017 National Conference, Kansas City, Mo.)
  • University of Miami (Fla.) Frost Wind Ensemble (Robert Carnochan, conductor) – 27 October 2016


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Hindemith, P. (1954). Konzertmusik für blasorchester, opus 41 [full score]. Schott Musik Corp., New York.
  • Miles, Richard B. 2000. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 3. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 706-717.
  • Nicholson, Chad. (2009). ‘’Great Music for Wind Band: A Guide to the Top 100 Works in Grades IV, V, VI.’’ Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications. pp 52-53.
  • Paul Hindemith website
  • Post, J.B. (2000). Symphonic Reflections: For Intermediate Level College Wind Ensemble With a Review of Existing Material and a Detailed Analysis. University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO.