Composer of the Week - Paul Hindemith - The Hindemith Case

Donald Macleod examines Hindemith's stance on the political changes in Germany in the 1930s. Very reluctant to leave his beloved Germany, he tried throughout this period to work out a way of living under the regime. In November 1934, the conductor Furtwangler wrote a newspaper article called The Hindemith Case in defence of the composer. It was a total failure, with Furtwangler having to resign all his positions, and Hindemith's compositions attacked as 'the foulest perversion of modern music'. Morgenmusik for brass (1st mvt) Malmo Brass Ensemble Der Schwanenedreher (1st mvt) Geraldine Walther (viola) San Francisco Symphony Orchestra Herbert Blomstedt (conductor) Symphony (Mathis der Maler) Berlin Philharmonic Claudio Abbado (conductor) Trauermusik Torleif Thedeen (cello) Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam Lev Markiz (conductor).