FREE ESSAY ON A REFLECTION ON PAUL HINDEMITH

A REFLECTION ON PAUL HINDEMITH

Paul Hindemith was revolutionary and a musical genius. Many people who lived around the
same time saw him as nothing more than an untalented noisemaker. Granted, these people
didn't have all of the various forms of music that we have today, but untalented would
not be a word I would use to describe Paul Hindemith. He helped begin the last great
change in classical music from the Romantic Era, which was very tonal and diatonic, to
20th Century Modern Music, which is extremely atonal. Diatonic means within in the key.
In other words, everything sounds nice and pretty. There are no weird noises, no funny
pitches. Atonal itself is defined as the avoidance of the traditional musical tonality,
or in layman's terms, it sounds very weird.
Paul Hindemith was born in the German State of Hesse in 1885, and grew up in Germany.
After he completed his studies at the Conservatory of Frankfurt-am-Main, he was appointed
conductor of the opera orchestra (1915-1923). In 1921, he also helped organize the famous
Amar-Hindemith Quartet, in which he played viola. In 1927, he became the composition
teacher at the Musikhochschuk in Berlin (Germany). In 1934, Hitler banned his work in
Germany because of its "extreme modernism". Around the same time, Hindemith was forced to
flee the country of his birth after being openly 
Heppner - 2
opposed to Hitler and the doctrines of Goebbels. (Emory University, website). The
doctrines were documents written by Dr. Joseph Goebbels recording the history of the Nazi
party (Encyclopedia Britanica Online). In late 1939, he moved to the United States, and
became the composition professor at Yale University. He was only there until World War II
ended. After the war, he returned to Europe to take the position of the professor of
composition at Zurich University. He died from a heart attack in a hospital in Frankfurt
in December of 1963.
The earliest known works of Hindemith were written in the year 1913. There were four main
pieces, which were all written in a composition class taught under Arnold Mendelssohn at
the Hoch Conservatory, which is located in Frankfurt, Germany. They're all considered
student works. That creates a problem for historians, because normally only one copy was
written. All of his early music was lost, unpublished, or only bits and pieces. The first
masterpiece he wrote that is still very popular today is the Concerto in Eb for
Violoncello and Orchestra, Opus 3. Later on when asked about it, Hindemith stated, "I
like this piece very much, particularly the first movement; the other two do not seem to
me to have come off so well. I soon found out that I would have to try something else
(The Larousse Encyclopedia of Music)."
. Through his work, Hindemith, like most composers show what's going on both in his life
and in the world. His String Quartet in F Minor, Opus 10, also known as his First String
Quartet, written between February and May of 1918 is a prime example of 
Heppner - 3
this. The end of WWI was nearing, and Germany was staring right into the face of defeat.
This is portrayed with movements that are very dark and somber.
Like any of the great composers, there are characteristics which make Hindemith's music
his. His melodies often incorporated an interval of a fourth, as well as diatonic
seconds. These, especially in the Classical and Romantic Eras of Music, were considered
unbreakable rules, especially when writing for singers. They were avoided whenever
possible, due mainly to the fact that they're extremely hard to hear and sing. Other
unique characteristics of Hindemith's music are the occasional use of Gregorian chants.
An example of this is found in what is disputably his best Opera, Mathis der Maler. He
frequently used dissonant counterpoint (a second melody which usually counters the main
melody) with the use of fugato and imitative writing.
A real turning point came in his music in the 1930's, around the time Hitler came to
power in Germany. In his early works, he experimented with expressionism, jazz,
atonality, parody and satire. From the 1930's on, he was more of a serious composer, and
used forms including the canon (which is a round - the same melody, with 3 or more
sections starting at different times), variation, suite, fugue, and the sonata. These
styles were all popular forms during the Baroque and Classical Eras. 
His last completed piece was simply entitled Mass. It was a liturgical Mass, for mixed
chorus acappella. The world premiere of the Mass was in Vienna on November 12, 1963.
Listening to it, you can tell what was going on in his life by its tone. One can't help 
Heppner - 4
but feel his pain and knowing that his health was beginning to fail him. Four days later
he became seriously ill and never recovered, dying on December 28. 1963.
I will admit that the first time I heard his music, my initial reaction was "what is that
noise?" Now after studying music intensely, I realize that he was a genius. A new
explorer if you will. He was willing to be daring and different to get a reaction from
people. He wasn't like composers before him. Mozart for example was an employee, per say,
of the Roman Catholic Church. Composers in the past usually wrote what their employer
wanted to hear. Paul Hindemith was one of the first who wasn't scared to write for his
enjoyment, not caring whether or not someone would pay him for his work. Isn't that the
same as music artists today? Music still keeps pushing and pushing just seeing how much
people can take. Hindemith was a rebel, but it's the rebels who are willing to take
chances on things they believe in. 
Hindemith once wrote: "Music, as long as it exists, will always take its departure from
the major triad and return to it. The musician cannot escape it any more than the painter
his primary colors, or the architect his three dimensions." That speaks for itself. The
terminology maybe a little unclear to those who aren't too familiar with music, but his
analogy of the painter makes it perfectly clear. Whether the listener likes the music or
not is irrelevant. It's the way a composer thinks. His music is how he speaks, just as an
artist speaks through his brush.
No matter what composer you look at, what is going on in his life at the time of his
piece is usually evident. Notes to a composer are words to an author. One can study 
Heppner - 5
his works, play them, and even make a determination as to whether or not they like it,
but no one except the composer knows what's going on in their head. That may be a good
thing, it may not, but that's one of the mysteries of music.
Bibliography
1. Arnold, C. Paul Hindemith. Web Page found at
http://www.emory.edu/Music/Arnold/hindemith_content.html.
2. Hindley, Geoffrey. The Larousse Encyclopedia of Music. Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
Reed International Books, 1971, reprinted 1994, p. 371-372, 406-407.
3. Kemp, Ian. Hindemith. New York, Toronto. Oxford University Press, 1970, p 12, 14-16,
20, 29.
4. Lampson, L.D. Paul Hindemith. Classical Net, 1995-1998. Web page found at
http://www.classical.net/music/lomp.1st/hindmith.html
5. Neumeyer, David. The Music of Paul Hindemith. New Haven, Connecticut. Yale University
Press, 1986, p 5, 26, 43-45, 140, 165, 190-192, 254-283.
6. Strobel, Heinrich. Paul Hindemith: A Testimony in Pictures. Germany. B. Schott's Sohne
and Mainz, 1961, p 7-11.