Gebrauchsmusik ( German pronunciation: [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xsmuˌziːk] ) is a German term, meaning "utility music ", for music that exists not only for its own sake, but which was composed for some specific, identifiable purpose. This purpose can be a particular historical event, like a political rally or a military ceremony, or it can be more general, as with music written to accompany dance, or music written for amateurs or students to perform.
90-418: While composer Paul Hindemith is probably the figure most identified with this expression, it seems to have been coined within the realm of musicology rather than composition. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the modern academic discipline of musicology was formulated by a mainly German group of scholars who were interested not only in formal development and biographical data, but also to an extent in
180-454: A U.S. citizen in 1946, but returned to Europe in 1953, living in Zürich and teaching at the university there until he retired from teaching in 1957. Toward the end of his life he began to conduct more and made numerous recordings, mostly of his own music. In 1954, an anonymous critic for Opera magazine, having attended a performance of Hindemith's Neues vom Tage , wrote: "Mr Hindemith
270-402: A U.S. citizen in 1946, but returned to Europe in 1953, living in Zürich and teaching at the university there until he retired from teaching in 1957. Toward the end of his life he began to conduct more and made numerous recordings, mostly of his own music. In 1954, an anonymous critic for Opera magazine, having attended a performance of Hindemith's Neues vom Tage , wrote: "Mr Hindemith
360-506: A foundational tone , and use musical forms and counterpoint and cadences typical of the Baroque and Classical traditions. His harmonic language is more modern, freely using all 12 notes of the chromatic scale within his tonal framework, as detailed in his three-volume treatise, The Craft of Musical Composition . Paul Hindemith was born in Hanau , near Frankfurt , the eldest child of
450-400: A foundational tone , and use musical forms and counterpoint and cadences typical of the Baroque and Classical traditions. His harmonic language is more modern, freely using all 12 notes of the chromatic scale within his tonal framework, as detailed in his three-volume treatise, The Craft of Musical Composition . Paul Hindemith was born in Hanau , near Frankfurt , the eldest child of
540-480: A sonata for double bass, and a concerto for trumpet, bassoon, and strings (both in 1949). In the 1930s Hindemith began to write less for chamber music groups, and more for large orchestral forces. He wrote his opera Mathis der Maler , based on the life of the painter Matthias Grünewald , in 1933–1935. This opera is rarely staged, though a well-known production by the New York City Opera in 1995
630-410: A sonata for double bass, and a concerto for trumpet, bassoon, and strings (both in 1949). In the 1930s Hindemith began to write less for chamber music groups, and more for large orchestral forces. He wrote his opera Mathis der Maler , based on the life of the painter Matthias Grünewald , in 1933–1935. This opera is rarely staged, though a well-known production by the New York City Opera in 1995
720-469: A "real master", and he was appreciated and greatly respected. Toward the end of the 1930s, Hindemith made several tours of America as a viola and viola d'amore soloist. He emigrated to Switzerland in 1938, partly because his wife was of part-Jewish ancestry. At the same time that he was codifying his musical language, Hindemith's teaching and compositions began to be affected by his theories, according to critics such as Ernest Ansermet . Arriving in
810-469: A "real master", and he was appreciated and greatly respected. Toward the end of the 1930s, Hindemith made several tours of America as a viola and viola d'amore soloist. He emigrated to Switzerland in 1938, partly because his wife was of part-Jewish ancestry. At the same time that he was codifying his musical language, Hindemith's teaching and compositions began to be affected by his theories, according to critics such as Ernest Ansermet . Arriving in
900-489: A composer, he became a major advocate of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) style of music in the 1920s, with compositions such as Kammermusik , including works with viola and viola d'amore as solo instruments in a neo- Bachian spirit. Other notable compositions include his song cycle Das Marienleben (1923), Der Schwanendreher for viola and orchestra (1935), the opera Mathis der Maler (1938),
990-655: A lecture at Harvard in 1950, he said that "quite obviously music for which no use can be found, that is to say, useless music, is not entitled to public consideration anyway and consequently the Gebrauch is taken for granted", and also that "to this day it has been impossible to kill the silly term and the unscrupulous classification that goes with it". Sources Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( / ˈ p aʊ l ˈ h ɪ n d ə m ɪ t / POWL HIN -də-mit ; German: [ˌpaʊ̯l ˈhɪndəmɪt] ; 16 November 1895 – 28 December 1963)
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#17327912012661080-639: A new music pedagogy in the era of president Kemal Atatürk . His deputy was Eduard Zuckmayer . Hindemith led the reorganization of Turkish music education and the early efforts to establish the Turkish State Opera and Ballet . He did not stay in Turkey as long as many other émigrés, but he greatly influenced Turkish musical life; the Ankara State Conservatory owes much to his efforts. Young Turkish musicians regarded Hindemith as
1170-438: A new music pedagogy in the era of president Kemal Atatürk . His deputy was Eduard Zuckmayer . Hindemith led the reorganization of Turkish music education and the early efforts to establish the Turkish State Opera and Ballet . He did not stay in Turkey as long as many other émigrés, but he greatly influenced Turkish musical life; the Ankara State Conservatory owes much to his efforts. Young Turkish musicians regarded Hindemith as
1260-537: A prolonged decline in his physical health, Hindemith composed almost until his death. He died in Frankfurt from pancreatitis , aged 68. He and his wife are buried in Cimetière La Chiésaz, La Chiésaz , Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Hindemith is among the most significant German composers of his time. His early works are in a late romantic idiom, and he later produced expressionist works, rather in
1350-408: A prolonged decline in his physical health, Hindemith composed almost until his death. He died in Frankfurt from pancreatitis , aged 68. He and his wife are buried in Cimetière La Chiésaz, La Chiésaz , Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Hindemith is among the most significant German composers of his time. His early works are in a late romantic idiom, and he later produced expressionist works, rather in
1440-531: A range of Hindemith's works. Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( / ˈ p aʊ l ˈ h ɪ n d ə m ɪ t / POWL HIN -də-mit ; German: [ˌpaʊ̯l ˈhɪndəmɪt] ; 16 November 1895 – 28 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist , teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As
1530-721: A series of recordings for EMI with the Philharmonia Orchestra and for Deutsche Grammophon with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra , which have been digitally remastered and released on CD. The Violin Concerto was also recorded by Decca/London , with the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and David Oistrakh as soloist. Everest Records issued a recording of Hindemith's postwar When Lilacs Last in
1620-430: A series of recordings for EMI with the Philharmonia Orchestra and for Deutsche Grammophon with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra , which have been digitally remastered and released on CD. The Violin Concerto was also recorded by Decca/London , with the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and David Oistrakh as soloist. Everest Records issued a recording of Hindemith's postwar When Lilacs Last in
1710-533: A social or political purpose and sometimes written to be played by amateurs. The concept was inspired by Bertolt Brecht . An example of this is Hindemith's Trauermusik (Funeral Music), written in January 1936. He was preparing the London premiere of his viola concerto Der Schwanendreher when he heard news of the death of George V . He quickly wrote Trauermusik for solo viola and string orchestra in tribute to
1800-425: A social or political purpose and sometimes written to be played by amateurs. The concept was inspired by Bertolt Brecht . An example of this is Hindemith's Trauermusik (Funeral Music), written in January 1936. He was preparing the London premiere of his viola concerto Der Schwanendreher when he heard news of the death of George V . He quickly wrote Trauermusik for solo viola and string orchestra in tribute to
1890-483: A step further, to imply that such utility music was socially superior, if not artistically so. For Besseler, "aesthetic access" ( Zugangsweise ) to the dance music was gained through participation, be it playing, dancing, or even singing along, rather than mere listening. He further expounded this thesis in a 1925 article on motets of the Medieval period , in which he proposed that such works had not been designed for
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#17327912012661980-558: A string quartet. In May 1918 he was deployed to the front in Flanders , where he served as a sentry; his diary has him "surviving grenade attacks only by good luck", according to New Grove Dictionary . After the armistice he returned to Frankfurt and the Rebner Quartet. In 1921, Hindemith founded the Amar Quartet , playing viola, and extensively toured Europe with an emphasis on contemporary music. His younger brother Rudolf
2070-439: A string quartet. In May 1918 he was deployed to the front in Flanders , where he served as a sentry; his diary has him "surviving grenade attacks only by good luck", according to New Grove Dictionary . After the armistice he returned to Frankfurt and the Rebner Quartet. In 1921, Hindemith founded the Amar Quartet , playing viola, and extensively toured Europe with an emphasis on contemporary music. His younger brother Rudolf
2160-404: A traditional key signature . Like most tonal music, it is centred on a tonic and modulates from one tonal centre to another, but it "attempts ... the free use of all the twelve tones of the chromatic scale ", rather than relying on a diatonic scale as a restricted subset of these notes. He even rewrote some of his music after developing this system. One of the core features of Hindemith's system
2250-404: A traditional key signature . Like most tonal music, it is centred on a tonic and modulates from one tonal centre to another, but it "attempts ... the free use of all the twelve tones of the chromatic scale ", rather than relying on a diatonic scale as a restricted subset of these notes. He even rewrote some of his music after developing this system. One of the core features of Hindemith's system
2340-405: Is a ranking of all musical intervals of the 12-tone equally tempered scale, from the most consonant to the most dissonant . He classifies chords in six categories, on the basis of dissonance, whether they contain a tritone, and whether they clearly suggest a root or tonal centre. His philosophy also encompassed melody—he strove for melodies that do not clearly outline major or minor triads. In
2430-405: Is a ranking of all musical intervals of the 12-tone equally tempered scale, from the most consonant to the most dissonant . He classifies chords in six categories, on the basis of dissonance, whether they contain a tritone, and whether they clearly suggest a root or tonal centre. His philosophy also encompassed melody—he strove for melodies that do not clearly outline major or minor triads. In
2520-558: Is no virtuoso conductor, but he does possess an extraordinary knack of making performers understand how his own music is supposed to go." Hindemith received the Wihuri Sibelius Prize in 1955. He was awarded the Balzan Prize in 1962 "for the wealth, extent and variety of his work, which is among the most valid in contemporary music, and which contains masterpieces of opera, symphonic and chamber music." Despite
2610-426: Is no virtuoso conductor, but he does possess an extraordinary knack of making performers understand how his own music is supposed to go." Hindemith received the Wihuri Sibelius Prize in 1955. He was awarded the Balzan Prize in 1962 "for the wealth, extent and variety of his work, which is among the most valid in contemporary music, and which contains masterpieces of opera, symphonic and chamber music." Despite
2700-439: Is the idea of dissonance resolving to consonance. Much of Hindemith's music begins in consonant territory, progresses into dissonant tension, and resolves in full, consonant chords and cadences . This is especially apparent in his Concert Music for Strings and Brass (1930). Hindemith's complete set of instructional books, in possible educational order: Hindemith was a prolific composer. He conducted some of his own music in
2790-439: Is the idea of dissonance resolving to consonance. Much of Hindemith's music begins in consonant territory, progresses into dissonant tension, and resolves in full, consonant chords and cadences . This is especially apparent in his Concert Music for Strings and Brass (1930). Hindemith's complete set of instructional books, in possible educational order: Hindemith was a prolific composer. He conducted some of his own music in
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2880-460: Is written for a different small instrumental ensemble, many of them very unusual. Kammermusik No. 6 , for example, is a concerto for the viola d'amore , an instrument that has not been in wide use since the baroque period, but which Hindemith himself played. He continued to write for unusual groups of instruments throughout his life, producing (for example) a trio for viola, heckelphone and piano (1928), seven trios for three trautoniums (1930),
2970-460: Is written for a different small instrumental ensemble, many of them very unusual. Kammermusik No. 6 , for example, is a concerto for the viola d'amore , an instrument that has not been in wide use since the baroque period, but which Hindemith himself played. He continued to write for unusual groups of instruments throughout his life, producing (for example) a trio for viola, heckelphone and piano (1928), seven trios for three trautoniums (1930),
3060-718: The Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber (1943), and the oratorio When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd (1946), a requiem based on Walt Whitman's poem . Hindemith and his wife emigrated to Switzerland and the United States ahead of World War II, after worsening difficulties with the Nazi German regime. In his later years, he conducted and recorded much of his own music. Most of Hindemith's compositions are anchored by
3150-796: The Frankfurt Opera Orchestra in 1914 and was promoted to concertmaster in 1916. He played second violin in the Rebner String Quartet from 1914. After his father's 1915 death in World War I , Hindemith was conscripted into the Imperial German Army in September 1917 and sent to a regiment in Alsace in January 1918. There he was assigned to play bass drum in the regiment band, and also formed
3240-410: The Frankfurt Opera Orchestra in 1914 and was promoted to concertmaster in 1916. He played second violin in the Rebner String Quartet from 1914. After his father's 1915 death in World War I , Hindemith was conscripted into the Imperial German Army in September 1917 and sent to a regiment in Alsace in January 1918. There he was assigned to play bass drum in the regiment band, and also formed
3330-493: The Renaissance , in all probability), is attested to by the work of Besseler and Nettl, who based their concepts on studies of the historical situation. Even so, the musicologically conceived term Gebrauchsmusik somehow came to be construed as a concept of modern political administration. Some composers and government officials identified a need for community music, to be played by amateurs and young people at large festivals;
3420-694: The University at Buffalo , Cornell University , and Wells College . During this time he gave the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard , from which the book A Composer's World (1952) was extracted. Hindemith had a long friendship with Erich Katz , whose compositions were influenced by him. Also among Hindemith's students were the future rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and the composers Franz Reizenstein , Harald Genzmer , Oskar Sala , Arnold Cooke , Robert Strassburg , and dozens of other notables . Hindemith became
3510-553: The University at Buffalo , Cornell University , and Wells College . During this time he gave the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard , from which the book A Composer's World (1952) was extracted. Hindemith had a long friendship with Erich Katz , whose compositions were influenced by him. Also among Hindemith's students were the future rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and the composers Franz Reizenstein , Harald Genzmer , Oskar Sala , Arnold Cooke , Robert Strassburg , and dozens of other notables . Hindemith became
3600-606: The Dooryard Bloom'd ("A Requiem for Those We Love") on LP, conducted by Hindemith. A stereo recording of Hindemith conducting the requiem with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra , with Louise Parker and George London as soloists, was made for Columbia Records in 1963 and later issued on CD. He also appeared on television as a guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra 's nationally syndicated "Music from Chicago" series;
3690-441: The Dooryard Bloom'd ("A Requiem for Those We Love") on LP, conducted by Hindemith. A stereo recording of Hindemith conducting the requiem with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra , with Louise Parker and George London as soloists, was made for Columbia Records in 1963 and later issued on CD. He also appeared on television as a guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra 's nationally syndicated "Music from Chicago" series;
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3780-524: The U.S. in 1940, he taught primarily at Yale University , where he founded the Yale Collegium Musicum. He had such notable students as Lukas Foss , Graham George , Andrew Hill , Norman Dello Joio , Mel Powell , Yehudi Wyner , Harold Shapero , Hans Otte , Ruth Schönthal , Samuel Adler , Leonard Sarason , Fenno Heath, Tony -winning composer Mitch Leigh , and Oscar -winning film director George Roy Hill . Hindemith also taught at
3870-449: The U.S. in 1940, he taught primarily at Yale University , where he founded the Yale Collegium Musicum. He had such notable students as Lukas Foss , Graham George , Andrew Hill , Norman Dello Joio , Mel Powell , Yehudi Wyner , Harold Shapero , Hans Otte , Ruth Schönthal , Samuel Adler , Leonard Sarason , Fenno Heath, Tony -winning composer Mitch Leigh , and Oscar -winning film director George Roy Hill . Hindemith also taught at
3960-608: The attention of an international audience. The next year, he composed the song cycle Das Marienleben ( The Life of Mary ) and began to work as an organizer of the Donaueschingen Festival , where he programmed works by several avant-garde composers, including Anton Webern and Arnold Schoenberg . In 1927 he was appointed Professor at the Berliner Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Hindemith wrote
4050-410: The attention of an international audience. The next year, he composed the song cycle Das Marienleben ( The Life of Mary ) and began to work as an organizer of the Donaueschingen Festival , where he programmed works by several avant-garde composers, including Anton Webern and Arnold Schoenberg . In 1927 he was appointed Professor at the Berliner Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Hindemith wrote
4140-463: The autonomous and the specific-purposed, respectively. It was Besseler's notion of this concept which took hold in German musical culture of the 1920s and 1930s, becoming something of a controversy within that sphere, and even spilling into political ideology. Such a distinction had always existed in music, and that some works had always been composed for specific occasions and others not (at least since
4230-576: The baton of Hugh McMillan, conducting the Boulder Symphonic Band at the University of Colorado. The piece is representative of Hindemith's late works, exhibiting strong contrapuntal lines throughout, and is a cornerstone of the band repertoire. He recorded it in stereo with members of the Philharmonia Orchestra for EMI in 1956. Most of Hindemith's music employs a unique system that is tonal but non- diatonic , often notated without
4320-442: The baton of Hugh McMillan, conducting the Boulder Symphonic Band at the University of Colorado. The piece is representative of Hindemith's late works, exhibiting strong contrapuntal lines throughout, and is a cornerstone of the band repertoire. He recorded it in stereo with members of the Philharmonia Orchestra for EMI in 1956. Most of Hindemith's music employs a unique system that is tonal but non- diatonic , often notated without
4410-428: The critic Theodor W. Adorno had called the work of Hindemith and other Gebrauchsmusiker symptomatic of "false [social] consciousness", and condemned it as being not truly useful at all, due to what he considered its lack of emotional content. By the late 1950s, Gebrauchsmusik had become almost universally a term of insult, especially among composers. Hindemith himself attempted, somewhat, to back away from it, when in
4500-510: The effect that Gebrauchsmusik would hardly outlive its present-day application, while that composed for art and no other purpose would have the only chance at immortality. Schoenberg also noted that there had been less and less call for such utility music since the end of the Republic anyway, and certainly since the conclusion of the war. As a result of this, Gebrauchsmusik ' s most ardent promoters had again become "ideal artists". Earlier,
4590-673: The enjoyment of listeners, but with only their devotional purpose in mind; this purpose would only be fulfilled through participation, whether performance or prayer. In making this point, Besseler sought to divide all music into two distinct categories, continuing to use the word Gebrauchsmusik for one, and likening this to vernacular language, while replacing Nettl's word for the other with eigenständige Musik —alone-standing, or autonomous music. Besseler had studied philosophy with Martin Heidegger , and thought that this musical duality reflected Heidegger's between "thing" and "equipment", for
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#17327912012664680-469: The final chapter of Book 1, Hindemith seeks to illustrate the wide-ranging relevance and applicability of his system, analyzing musical examples from the medieval to the contemporary. These analyses include the early Gregorian melody Dies irae , compositions by Guillaume de Machaut , J. S. Bach , Richard Wagner , Igor Stravinsky , Arnold Schoenberg , and a composition of his own. Hindemith's 1942 piano work Ludus Tonalis contains twelve fugues , in
4770-469: The final chapter of Book 1, Hindemith seeks to illustrate the wide-ranging relevance and applicability of his system, analyzing musical examples from the medieval to the contemporary. These analyses include the early Gregorian melody Dies irae , compositions by Guillaume de Machaut , J. S. Bach , Richard Wagner , Igor Stravinsky , Arnold Schoenberg , and a composition of his own. Hindemith's 1942 piano work Ludus Tonalis contains twelve fugues , in
4860-409: The late 1930s Hindemith wrote an instructional treatise in three volumes, The Craft of Musical Composition , which lays out this system in great detail. He also advocated this system as a means of understanding and analyzing the harmonic structure of other music, claiming that it has a broader reach than the traditional Roman numeral approach to chords (an approach strongly tied to diatonic scales). In
4950-409: The late 1930s Hindemith wrote an instructional treatise in three volumes, The Craft of Musical Composition , which lays out this system in great detail. He also advocated this system as a means of understanding and analyzing the harmonic structure of other music, claiming that it has a broader reach than the traditional Roman numeral approach to chords (an approach strongly tied to diatonic scales). In
5040-496: The late king, and the premiere was given that same evening, the day after the king's death. Other examples of Hindemith's Gebrauchsmusik include: Hindemith's most popular work, both on record and in the concert hall, is probably the Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber , written in 1943. It takes melodies from various works by Carl Maria von Weber , mainly piano duets, but also one from
5130-421: The late king, and the premiere was given that same evening, the day after the king's death. Other examples of Hindemith's Gebrauchsmusik include: Hindemith's most popular work, both on record and in the concert hall, is probably the Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber , written in 1943. It takes melodies from various works by Carl Maria von Weber , mainly piano duets, but also one from
5220-420: The long German tradition of community singing benefited greatly from this impulse. Hindemith , Kurt Weill , and many others contributed works with such intentions in mind as the fledgling Weimar Republic tried to stave off collapse. The cultural, rather than solely political, nature of this movement will be seen, however, from the observation that Hindemith was for the most part a political agnostic, while Weill
5310-438: The manner of Johann Sebastian Bach , using traditional devices like inversion, diminution, augmentation, retrogradation, stretto, etc. Each fugue is connected by an interlude to the next, during which the music moves from the key of the last to its successor. The order of the keys follows Hindemith's ranking of musical intervals around the tonal center of C. Another traditional aspect of classical music that Hindemith retains
5400-438: The manner of Johann Sebastian Bach , using traditional devices like inversion, diminution, augmentation, retrogradation, stretto, etc. Each fugue is connected by an interlude to the next, during which the music moves from the key of the last to its successor. The order of the keys follows Hindemith's ranking of musical intervals around the tonal center of C. Another traditional aspect of classical music that Hindemith retains
5490-526: The music for Hans Richter 's 1928 avant-garde film Ghosts Before Breakfast ( Vormittagsspuk ) and also acted in the film; the score and original film were later burned by the Nazis . In 1929, Hindemith played the solo part in the premiere of William Walton 's viola concerto , after Lionel Tertis , for whom it was written, turned it down. On 15 May 1924, Hindemith married the actress and singer Gertrud (Johanna Gertrude) Rottenberg (1900–1967). The marriage
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#17327912012665580-474: The music for Hans Richter 's 1928 avant-garde film Ghosts Before Breakfast ( Vormittagsspuk ) and also acted in the film; the score and original film were later burned by the Nazis . In 1929, Hindemith played the solo part in the premiere of William Walton 's viola concerto , after Lionel Tertis , for whom it was written, turned it down. On 15 May 1924, Hindemith married the actress and singer Gertrud (Johanna Gertrude) Rottenberg (1900–1967). The marriage
5670-492: The often wasted effort of regaling them with rhetoric, left and right alike could simply awe the public with spectacle and envelop them in the ecstasy of art. The right wing took Gebrauchsmusik as a tool when the former began its ascendancy, which is probably the main reason for the latter's increased discredit and abandonment as the decade progressed, and the most important German artists and thinkers departed for more hospitable locales. A second reason, though, for this discredit
5760-497: The opera Mathis der Maler (1938), the Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber (1943), and the oratorio When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd (1946), a requiem based on Walt Whitman's poem . Hindemith and his wife emigrated to Switzerland and the United States ahead of World War II, after worsening difficulties with the Nazi German regime. In his later years, he conducted and recorded much of his own music. Most of Hindemith's compositions are anchored by
5850-461: The overture to his incidental music for Turandot (Op. 37/J. 75), and transforms and adapts them so that each movement of the piece is based on one theme. In 1951, Hindemith completed his Symphony in B-flat . Scored for concert band , it was written for the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" . Hindemith premiered it with that band on 5 April of that year. Its second performance took place under
5940-408: The overture to his incidental music for Turandot (Op. 37/J. 75), and transforms and adapts them so that each movement of the piece is based on one theme. In 1951, Hindemith completed his Symphony in B-flat . Scored for concert band , it was written for the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" . Hindemith premiered it with that band on 5 April of that year. Its second performance took place under
6030-437: The painter and decorator Robert Hindemith from Lower Silesia and his wife Marie Hindemith, née Warnecke. He was taught the violin as a child. He entered Frankfurt's Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium , where he studied violin with Adolf Rebner , as well as conducting and composition with Arnold Mendelssohn and Bernhard Sekles . At first he supported himself by playing in dance bands and musical-comedy groups. He became deputy leader of
6120-437: The painter and decorator Robert Hindemith from Lower Silesia and his wife Marie Hindemith, née Warnecke. He was taught the violin as a child. He entered Frankfurt's Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium , where he studied violin with Adolf Rebner , as well as conducting and composition with Arnold Mendelssohn and Bernhard Sekles . At first he supported himself by playing in dance bands and musical-comedy groups. He became deputy leader of
6210-547: The performances have been released by VAI on home video. A complete collection of Hindemith's orchestral music was recorded by German and Australian orchestras, all conducted by Werner Andreas Albert and released on the CPO label. An annual festival of Hindemith's music has been held at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, from 2003 through at least 2017. It features student, staff, and professional musicians performing
6300-447: The performances have been released by VAI on home video. A complete collection of Hindemith's orchestral music was recorded by German and Australian orchestras, all conducted by Werner Andreas Albert and released on the CPO label. An annual festival of Hindemith's music has been held at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, from 2003 through at least 2017. It features student, staff, and professional musicians performing
6390-423: The province of simple utility and more aligned with some anticipation of a listening audience paying full attention. The period's emerging binary dance form featured such characteristics as an increasing tonicization of foreign keys, an increasingly explicit and emphasized dominant-tonic tonal axis, and a refined delicacy of ornamentation, all of which would seem superfluous in application to a music intended only as
6480-411: The rhythmic accompaniment to physical activity. In addition to these developments in the individual movements, they were organized into ever more extended and stylized suites , which greatly resembled other instrumental forms of the day. Indeed, the mature sonata da camera is virtually indistinguishable from the dance suite of the time. Nettl saw in this situation a clear distinction between music that
6570-408: The sociopolitical position of music throughout history, and the relationship of music and musicians to society at large. Perhaps the first such musicologist to use the word Gebrauchsmusik was Paul Nettl [ de ] , who employed it in reference to half of his perceived binarism between that 17th-century dance music which was in fact danced to, and that which was written in dance forms but
6660-554: The style of the early Schoenberg , before developing a leaner, contrapuntally complex style in the 1920s. This style has been described as neoclassical , but is quite different from the works by Igor Stravinsky labeled with that term, owing more to the contrapuntal language of Johann Sebastian Bach and Max Reger than the Classical clarity of Mozart . The new style can be heard in the series of works called Kammermusik (Chamber Music) from 1922 to 1927. Each of these pieces
6750-497: The style of the early Schoenberg , before developing a leaner, contrapuntally complex style in the 1920s. This style has been described as neoclassical , but is quite different from the works by Igor Stravinsky labeled with that term, owing more to the contrapuntal language of Johann Sebastian Bach and Max Reger than the Classical clarity of Mozart . The new style can be heard in the series of works called Kammermusik (Chamber Music) from 1922 to 1927. Each of these pieces
6840-580: The thirties, with Hindemith falling in and out of favour with the Nazis. During the 1930s, Hindemith visited Cairo and also Ankara several times. He accepted an invitation from the Turkish government to oversee the creation of a music school in Ankara in 1935, after Goebbels had pressured him to request an indefinite leave of absence from the Berlin Academy. In Turkey, he was the leading figure of
6930-408: The thirties, with Hindemith falling in and out of favour with the Nazis. During the 1930s, Hindemith visited Cairo and also Ankara several times. He accepted an invitation from the Turkish government to oversee the creation of a music school in Ankara in 1935, after Goebbels had pressured him to request an indefinite leave of absence from the Berlin Academy. In Turkey, he was the leading figure of
7020-545: Was a German and American composer, music theorist , teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) style of music in the 1920s, with compositions such as Kammermusik , including works with viola and viola d'amore as solo instruments in a neo- Bachian spirit. Other notable compositions include his song cycle Das Marienleben (1923), Der Schwanendreher for viola and orchestra (1935),
7110-445: Was actually abstract music intended only for listening (by extension, this duality applied to the dichotomy between any music for a specific purpose, Gebrauchsmusik , and that for none but the pleasure or edification of listening, Vortragsmusik ). Nettl arrived at this dual-development view of dance music through his observation that such pieces began, as the century progressed, to use stylistic and formal devices that were farther from
7200-481: Was an avowed leftist. Composers, regardless of their political views, were largely in favor of the Gebrauchsmusik concept at its outset because a recognized need and desire for occasion-tailored works would lead to a constant call for them. All combatants in the political arena saw in community music-making a potential glue with which to unite the German people behind their respective agendas; rather than expend
7290-477: Was an exception. It combines the neo-classicism of earlier works with folk song . As a preliminary stage to the composing of this opera, Hindemith wrote a purely instrumental symphony also called Mathis der Maler , which is one of his most frequently performed works. In the opera, some portions of the symphony appear as instrumental interludes; others were elaborated in vocal scenes. Hindemith wrote Gebrauchsmusik (Music for Use)—compositions intended to have
7380-477: Was an exception. It combines the neo-classicism of earlier works with folk song . As a preliminary stage to the composing of this opera, Hindemith wrote a purely instrumental symphony also called Mathis der Maler , which is one of his most frequently performed works. In the opera, some portions of the symphony appear as instrumental interludes; others were elaborated in vocal scenes. Hindemith wrote Gebrauchsmusik (Music for Use)—compositions intended to have
7470-556: Was childless. The Nazis ' relationship to Hindemith's music was complicated. Some condemned his music as " degenerate " (largely based on his early, sexually charged operas such as Sancta Susanna ). In December 1934, during a speech at the Berlin Sports Palace , Germany's Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels publicly denounced Hindemith as an "atonal noisemaker". The Nazis banned his music in October 1936, and he
7560-430: Was childless. The Nazis ' relationship to Hindemith's music was complicated. Some condemned his music as " degenerate " (largely based on his early, sexually charged operas such as Sancta Susanna ). In December 1934, during a speech at the Berlin Sports Palace , Germany's Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels publicly denounced Hindemith as an "atonal noisemaker". The Nazis banned his music in October 1936, and he
7650-545: Was intended mainly to be in the service of dancers, and that which was mainly intended to service the ideals of art. In articulating this distinction, however, Nettl did not imply that utility music was unimportant artistically. Instead, he pointed out the importance of social need or desire as a catalyst for artistic development. Two years later, also discussing the 17th-century suite (in Beiträge zur Stilgeschichte der deutschen Suite im 17. Jahrhundert ) Heinrich Besseler went
7740-603: Was subsequently included in the 1938 Entartete Musik (Degenerate Music) exhibition in Düsseldorf . Other officials working in Nazi Germany , though, thought that he might provide Germany with an example of a modern German composer, as, by this time, he was writing music based in tonality, with frequent references to folk music. The conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler 's defence of Hindemith, published in 1934, takes this line. The controversy around his work continued throughout
7830-485: Was subsequently included in the 1938 Entartete Musik (Degenerate Music) exhibition in Düsseldorf . Other officials working in Nazi Germany , though, thought that he might provide Germany with an example of a modern German composer, as, by this time, he was writing music based in tonality, with frequent references to folk music. The conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler 's defence of Hindemith, published in 1934, takes this line. The controversy around his work continued throughout
7920-513: Was the occurrence to certain composers and their followers that composing music for large-scale public use would lead to a need for them to pander as well to large-scale public taste. Such a concept was anathematic to the art-for-art's-sake ideal which followed alongside that of community music in Germany since the days of Beethoven , who had ushered in the era of the well-regarded and financially successful free-lance composer. Schoenberg wrote to
8010-549: Was the original cellist. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) style of music in the 1920s, with compositions such as Kammermusik . Reminiscent of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos , they include works with viola and viola d'amore as solo instruments in a neo-Bachian spirit. In 1922, some of his pieces were played in the International Society for Contemporary Music festival at Salzburg , which first brought him to
8100-477: Was the original cellist. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) style of music in the 1920s, with compositions such as Kammermusik . Reminiscent of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos , they include works with viola and viola d'amore as solo instruments in a neo-Bachian spirit. In 1922, some of his pieces were played in the International Society for Contemporary Music festival at Salzburg , which first brought him to
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