Search - Paul Hindemith, Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Philharmonic :: Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Dances / Ragtime (well-tempered) / Pittsburgh Symphony

Rare Hindemith, Well Done

Eugene G. Barnes | Dunn Loring, VA USA | 03/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pardon the cliché headline, but it fits. The "Symphonic Dances" date from 1937/8, a ballet project that was set aside and later rescued by the composer and converted into a purely symphonic work of 28 minutes duration. It came a couple of years after the Symphony "Mathis der Maler," and it shares its ambiance. The music is more direct, however, and way more robust, more on the order of the "Symphonic Metamorphosis."The "Ragtime (well-tempered)" (1921) is a three and a half minute takeoff on Bach's C Minor Fugue. I find it difficult to hear any ragtime in it a all, but it is catchy all the same.The final work on the CD is the "Pittsburgh" Symphony (1959), Hindemith's last symphonic composition. The booklet fairly trips all over itself to assure the listener that this is not "about" Pittsburgh, that this music can stand on its own without any programmatic explanation. That's true, of course, but I still hear a lot of Pittsburgh steel mills and labor unions in it. Since Hindemith can occasionally sound "industrial" anyway, this is not a big problem. But the work ends with a quotation of a folk song about Pittsburgh that I think was ill-advised, as it seems to me it's just not good raw material and doesn't much fit. It's not a mortal flaw by any means, but it does kind of diminish the work's potential for greatness. One other thing: Hindemith didn't develop a more complex vocabulary as most composers did over time, so his "Pittsburgh" Symphony is every bit as accessible as his earlier music.There are a lot of fledgling conductors out there who have no business making recordings early in their career. Yan Pascal Tortelier is NOT one of them. I haven't heard anything bad from him yet. His Hindemith work in particular is very polished. The Chandos sound is its usual excellent. Whether or not you are coming to this CD via other Hindemith, this is one very fine recording."