Search - Paul Hindemith, Shoshana Rudiakov, Ruth Ziesak :: Paul Hindemith: Die Serenaden, Op. 35; Heckelphone Trio

What the heck is a Heckelphone? As you might guess from hearing that it's played by an oboist, it's a double-reed instrument pitched lower than an oboe and higher than a bassoon, invented at the turn of the century. It never became popular, and aside from this Hindemith Trio you'll probably never hear another one. This Hindemith miscellany includes a rather obscure vocal cantata, extremely well sung by Ruth Ziesak. The instrumental works are all very well played, too, with Lajos Lencsés providing strong rhythmic impetus to everything he plays in. There isn't quite an hour of music on the disc, but since the music is hardly overexposed it's certainly a reasonable buy for Hindemith admirers. --Leslie Gerber