P. Hindemith is the largest German composer, one of the recognized classical music of the XX century. Being a person of universal scale (conductor, performer on viola and viola d'amour, music theorist, publicist, poet - author of texts of his own works) Hindemith was equally universal in his compositional work. There is no kind or genre of music that is not embraced by his work - whether it is a philosophically significant symphony or an opera for preschoolers, music for experimental electronic
more
P. Hindemith is the largest German composer, one of the recognized classical music of the XX century. Being a person of universal scale (conductor, performer on viola and viola d'amour, music theorist, publicist, poet - author of texts of his own works) Hindemith was equally universal in his compositional work. There is no kind or genre of music that is not embraced by his work - whether it is a philosophically significant symphony or an opera for preschoolers, music for experimental electronic instruments or plays for an ancient string ensemble. There is no instrument that does not appear in his works as a soloist and on which he could not play himself (for, according to contemporaries, Hindemith was one of the few composers who could perform almost all the parts in his orchestral scores, hence the role of "all-musician" - All-raund-musiker - firmly entrenched behind him). The desire for comprehensiveness was also noted by the composer’s musical language, which absorbed various experimental currents of the XX century and at the same time constantly rushed to the origins – to I. S. Bach, later – to I. Brahms, M. Reger and A. Bruckner. Hindemith’s creative path is the birth of a new classic: from the polemical fuse of youth to the increasingly serious and thoughtful assertion of his artistic credo. The beginning of Hindemith's activity coincided with the 20s - a period of intensive searches in European art. Expressionist influences of these years (the opera “The Killer, the Hope of Women” on the text of O. Kokoschka) give way relatively quickly to anti-romantic declarations. Grotesque, parody, sarcastic ridicule of all pathetics (the opera "News of the Day"), an alliance with jazz, the noises and rhythms of the big city (piano suite 1922) - all united under a common slogan - "Down with romanticism". The program of actions of the young composer is clearly reflected in his author's remarks - such as the one that accompanies the finale of the alto Sonata Op. 21 No. 1: "The tempo is frantic." The beauty of sound is secondary.” However, even then, the complex spectrum of style searches is dominated by neoclassical orientation. For Hindemith, Neoclassicism was not only one of many linguistic manners, but above all - the leading creative principle, the search for a "strong and beautiful form" (F. Busoni), the need to develop stable and reliable norms of thinking, dating back to the ancient masters. By the second half of the 20s, the individual style of the composer was finally formed. The rigid expression of Hindemite music gives reason to liken it to the "language of wooden engraving". The introduction to the Baroque musical culture, which became the center of Hindemith’s neoclassical preferences, was expressed in the widespread use of the polyphonic method. Fugues, passages, the technique of linear polyphony saturate the compositions of different genres. Among them is the vocal cycle "Life of Mary" (on the R. Rilke St.), as well as the opera "Cardillac" (on the novella by T. A. Hoffman), where the intrinsic value of musical laws of development is perceived as a counterweight to Wagner's "musical drama". Along with these works, the best creations of Hindemith of the 20s (yes, perhaps, and in general to his best creations) include cycles of chamber instrumental music - sonatas, ensembles, concerts, where the natural predisposition of the composer to think purely musical concepts found the most fertile ground. Hindemith’s extraordinarily productive work in instrumental genres is inseparable from his performing appearance. As a viola player, a member of the famous quartet of L. Amar, the composer concerted in various countries (including in the USSR - 1927). He was the organizer of the festivals of new chamber music in Donaueschingen, inspired by the novelties sounding there and at the same time determined the general atmosphere of the festivals as one of the leaders of the musical avant-garde. In the 30s, Hindemith’s work gravitates towards greater clarity and stability: all European music then experienced the natural reaction of the “sludge” of experimental currents that had been raging until now. For Hindemith, not the last role was played by the ideas of Gebrauchsmusik - music of everyday life. Through various forms of amateur music, the composer intended to prevent the loss of a mass listener by modern professional creativity. However, a certain seal of self-restraint now characterizes not only his applied and instructive experiments. The ideas of communication and mutual understanding on the basis of music do not leave the German master in the creation of works of "high style" - just as until the very end he retains faith in the good will of people who love art, that "evil people have no songs" ("Bose Menschen haben keine Lleder"). To the ideal of harmonious, classically balanced statement Hindemith also led the search for a scientifically objective basis of musical creativity, the desire to theoretically comprehend and substantiate the eternal laws of music due to its physical nature. Thus appeared the "Guide to composition" (1936-41) - the fruit of many years of work Hindemith-scientist and teacher. But perhaps the most important reason for the composer’s departure from the self-sufficient stylistic audacities of early years was the new creative super-tasks. The spiritual maturity of Hindemith was stimulated by the very atmosphere of the 30s - the complex and terrible situation of fascist Germany, which required the artist to mobilize all moral forces. It is not by chance that the opera “The Artist Matis” (1938) appeared – a deep social drama, which was perceived by many in direct consonance with what was happening (eloquent associations were caused, for example, by the scene of burning Lutheran books in the market square in Mainz). Very relevant sounded and the theme of the work – the artist and society, developed on the material of the legendary biography of Mathis Grunewald. It is noteworthy that Hindemith’s opera was banned by the fascist authorities and soon began its life in the form of a symphony of the same name (3 parts of it are called the paintings of the Isenheim Altar belonging to Grunewald’s brush: “Concert of Angels”, “The Position in the Tomb”, “The Temptations of St. Anthony”). The conflict with the fascist dictatorship caused a long and irretrievable emigration of the composer. However, living for many years away from his homeland (mainly in Switzerland and the USA), Hindemith remained faithful to the original traditions of German music, as well as to his chosen path of composition. In the postwar years, he continues to give preference to instrumental genres (Symphonic Metamorphoses of Weber’s Themes were created, the Pittsburgh and Serena symphonies, new sonatas, ensembles, concerts). The most significant work of Hindemith in recent years is the symphony Harmony of the World (1957), which arose on the material of the opera of the same name (which tells about the spiritual quest of the astronomer I. Kepler and about his difficult fate). The composition is crowned with a majestic passakalia, depicting the dance of heavenly bodies and symbolizing the harmony of the universe. Belief in this harmony - in spite of the chaos of real life - imbued later creativity of the composer. The preaching and protective pathos sounds more and more persistent in it. In his book The World of the Composer (1952), Hindemith declares war on the modern “entertainment industry” and, on the other hand, on the elitist technocratism of modern avant-garde music, equally hostile, in his opinion, to the true spirit of creativity. Guarding Hindemith had clear costs. His musical style of the 50s is sometimes fraught with academic leveling; not free from didactics and critical attacks of the composer. And yet it is in this thirst for harmony, which, moreover, in Hindemith’s own music, experiences a considerable force of resistance, that the main moral and aesthetic “nerve” of the best creations of the German master is contained. Here he remained a follower of the great Bach, responding at the same time to all the "sick" questions of existence.