Paul Hindemith

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Biography

Born: 1895   Died: 1963   Country: Germany   Period: 20th Century
A theorist, teacher, violist, conductor, and composer who is regarded by many as the foremost German composer of his generation, Paul Hindemith was one of the most central figures in music between the First and Second World Wars. Born outside of Frankfurt, Hindemith moved with his family to the city in 1902. It was here, in 1904, that Hindemith began taking violin lessons. By 1908, Hindemith became a student of Adolf Rebner, a teacher at the Hoch Read more Conservatory in Frankfurt, who arranged for Hindemith to be awarded a free place at the conservatory the following year. Although he had long been composing, Hindemith, in addition to continuing his study of the violin, began to study composition formally. However, he was forced to leave the conservatory in 1917 when he was called up for military service. He spent most of his service as a member of a regimental band stationed about 3 kilometers from the front line.

After returning from the war, Hindemith again took to the concert stage, having switched to viola in 1919. In 1923 he was invited to join the administrative committee of the Donaueschingen Festival, a group over which he exerted an ever increasing amount of control; programming works of such composers as Schoenberg and Webern. The next year he married Gertrud Rottenberg, the daughter of the conductor of the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, an ensemble in which Hindemith had been playing. In 1927 he received an appointment as professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. In addition to maintaining an active performing career, Hindemith soon developed a strong interest in teaching, and even took on an evening class at the Volksmusikschule NeuKolln.

Early in 1934, the Nazi party began a campaign to discredit Hindemith, which culminated in a boycott of the composer's works announced by the Kulturgemeinde in November of that year. In January 1935, Hindemith was given a six-month leave from the Hochschule. However, as the boycott of his music was not endorsed by the music division of the Nazi party until 1937, Hindemith was allowed not only to return to teaching, but also to undertake a series of concert tours abroad, to have his music published, and to enter into an agreement with the government of Turkey to build an organized musical life in that country. However, in 1937, Hindemith left Germany for Switzerland, and in 1940 came to the U.S.

After a series of lecture and teaching engagements which had been arranged by friends, Hindemith took a position at Yale, teaching composition and, from 1945 to 1953, conducting the Collegium Musicum. In 1946, Hindemith became an American citizen. In 1951 he accepted a position at the University of Zurich and, after retiring from Yale in 1953, took up permanent residence in Switzerland. After retiring from his post in Zurich, in 1955, he became more active as a conductor. In November 1963, he was taken ill and transferred to a hospital in Frankfurt, where he died of acute pancreatitis. Read less

Featured Paul Hindemith CDs & DVDs:

Britten & Hindemith: Violin Concertos / Steinbacher, Jurowski, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Britten & Hindemith: Violin Concertos / Steinbacher, Jurowski, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Release Date: 10/20/2017   Label: Pentatone  
Catalog: PTC5186625   Number of Discs: 1
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Hindemith: Cardillac
Hindemith: Cardillac
Release Date: 12/01/1988   Label: Wergo  
Catalog: 60148   Number of Discs: 2
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Paul Hindemith: Mathis Der Maler
Paul Hindemith: Mathis Der Maler
Release Date: 04/01/1994   Label: Wergo  
Catalog: 6255   Number of Discs: 3
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Hindemith: Mathis Der Maler, Etc / Decker, New Zealand
Hindemith: Mathis Der Maler, Etc / Decker, New Zealand
Release Date: 03/21/1995   Label: Naxos  
Catalog: 8553078   Number of Discs: 1
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Hindemith, Barber, Larsson, Janacek / Thompson Wind Quintet
Hindemith, Barber, Larsson, Janacek / Thompson Wind Quintet
Release Date: 03/14/2000   Label: Naxos  
Catalog: 8553851   Number of Discs: 1
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Work: Der Schwanendreher

Browse 1-11 of 11 Available Recordings
  • 1.
    Bratsche! - Hindemith / Antoine Tanestit
    Bratsche! - Hindemith / Antoine Tanestit
    Label: Naive   Catalog: 5329 Release Date: 06/24/2014   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Paul Hindemith
    Performer:  Antoine Tamestit,  Markus Hadulla
    Conductor:  Paavo Järvi
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
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  • 2.
    Hindemith: Orchestral Music / Kegel, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
    Hindemith: Orchestral Music / Kegel, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
    Label: Brilliant Classics   Catalog: 9441 Release Date: 09/24/2013   Number of Discs: 5
    Composer:  Paul Hindemith
    Performer:  Ludwig Güttler,  Eckardt Königstedt,  Walter Hartwich,  Ralf-Carsten Brömsel  ... 
    Conductor:  Herbert Kegel,  Otmar Suitner,  Hans Sandig
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra,  Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra,  Dresden Staatskapelle  ... 
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  • 3.
    Hindemith: Complete Viola Works, Vol. 1 / Zimmermann, Graf, Deutsches Symphony Orchestra Berlin
    Hindemith: Complete Viola Works, Vol. 1 / Zimmermann, Graf, Deutsches Symphony Orchestra Berlin
    Label: Myrios Classics   Catalog: 10 Release Date: 07/09/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Paul Hindemith
    Performer:  Tabea Zimmermann
    Conductor:  Hans Graf
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
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  • 4.
    Hindemith: Complete Viola Music Vol. 3 - Concertos / Lawrence Power
    Hindemith: Complete Viola Music Vol. 3 - Concertos / Lawrence Power
    Label: Hyperion   Catalog: 67774 Release Date: 01/11/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Paul Hindemith
    Performer:  Lawrence Power
    Conductor:  David Atherton
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
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  • 5.
    Arthur Fiedler's Sinfonietta
    Arthur Fiedler's Sinfonietta
    Label: Rca Victor Gold Seal   Catalog: 62571 Release Date: 12/09/2010   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  John Stanley,  George Frideric Handel,  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Paul Hindemith  ... 
    Performer:  E. Power Biggs,  Paul Hindemith
    Conductor:  Arthur Fiedler
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Arthur Fiedler Sinfonietta
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  • 6.
    Gemini - Hindemith: Kammermusik 1-7, Der Schwanendreher
    Gemini - Hindemith: Kammermusik 1-7, Der Schwanendreher
    Label: Warner Classics   Catalog: 97711 Release Date: 10/23/2007   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Paul Hindemith
    Performer:  Lars Vogt,  Georg Faust,  Kolja Blacher,  Wolfram Christ  ... 
    Conductor:  Claudio Abbado,  David Shallon
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,  Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
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  • 7.
    Hindemith: Mathis Der Mahler Symphonie, Der Schwanendrehrer, Etc
    Hindemith: Mathis Der Mahler Symphonie, Der Schwanendrehrer, Etc
    Label: Dg 20th Century Classics   Catalog: 423241 Release Date: 06/12/2007   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Paul Hindemith
    Performer:  Daniel Benyamini
    Conductor:  William Steinberg,  Daniel Barenboim
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Boston Symphony Orchestra,  Paris Orchestra
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  • 8.
    Bartok: Viola Concerto; Hindemith / Hillyer, Watanabe
    Bartok: Viola Concerto; Hindemith / Hillyer, Watanabe
    Label: Albany Records   Catalog: 76 Release Date: 10/24/2006   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Paul Hindemith,  Béla Bartók
    Performer:  Raphael Hillyer
    Conductor:  Akeo Watanabe
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
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  • 9.
    Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher; Brahms / Primrose, Pritchard
    Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher; Brahms / Primrose, Pritchard
    Label: Urania Records   Catalog: 927 Release Date: 11/29/2005   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms,  Paul Hindemith
    Performer:  William Primrose
    Conductor:  John Pritchard
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Columbia Chamber Orchestra
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  • 10.
    Hindemith: Complete Orchestral Works Vol 3 / Albert , Et Al
    Hindemith: Complete Orchestral Works Vol 3 / Albert , Et Al
    Label: Cpo   Catalog: 999784 Release Date: 04/17/2001   Number of Discs: 4
    Composer:  Paul Hindemith
    Performer:  Rosalinde Haas,  Brett Dean,  Dene Olding,  Liviu Varcol  ... 
    Conductor:  Werner Andreas Albert
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Queensland Symphony Orchestra,  Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
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  • 11.
    Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher, Konzertmuzik / Blomstedt
    Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher, Konzertmuzik / Blomstedt
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 433809 Release Date: 06/29/1998   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Paul Hindemith
    Performer:  Geraldine Walther
    Conductor:  Herbert Blomstedt
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
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