Paul hindemith mathis der maler symphony 2

Not only did Hindemith not conceive it as a symphonic work, he was not even interested in its subject proposed to him in by his publisher friend Willy Strecker and a music writer Franz Willms. But it was not meant to be. Suddenly the idea of exploring the life of a German painter became more appealing, if not safer and prudent. This man, equipped with the susceptibility of such nature, experiences at the beginning of the 16 th century the surge of a new era, with its inevitable disintegration of so-far valid views.

Although he fully acknowledges the momentous artistic achievements of the emerging Renaissance, he nonetheless decides, in his own work, in favor of the definitive unfolding of the traditional. How bottomless must have been the abyss of fickleness and despair that he navigated when, at the threshold of modern times, he gave intimate expression one more time to medieval piety […] and then turned to Lutheran Reformation.

Symphony: Mathis der Maler (Matthias the Painter) is among the most famous orchestral works of German composer Paul Hindemith.

But then again, perhaps it represents the ambling of a man to his grave, on an elevated, calm path—of a man who finally found the balance between the bliss and the terrors of his soul. Yet the parallels of human search for meaning and direction reach even deeper and further into the centuries past. Having answered the call to the ascetic life during his teenage years, he later found others questioning his path of solitude.

His secluded dwelling was increasingly trespassed upon by young disciples who sought guidance in their spiritual path, proclaiming Antony the father of the hermit movement. Antony struggled between the responsibility of mentorship and the fidelity to his early calling to ascetic life. The issue was further complicated by his supernatural and medicinal healing abilities and his growing ministry to persecuted Christians.

Conducted and composed by Paul HindemithBerlin Philharmonic,

He feared that the increasing immersion in the outside world would disturb his inner sanctum and jeopardize the purity of his soul. Hindemith decided not to become involved in the Nazi conflict and chose the path of emigration first to Switzerland and later to the United States in order to disassociate himself from the major political force as well as from the resistance movement.

Although some of his critics called his decision self-serving, and perhaps elitist, it is possible to imagine his inner conflict and motivation in the light of his artistic calling. Mathis der Maler Symphony was premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on March 12, and performed a few times the same year in Germany and abroad. From the stylistic standpoint, as a tonal work reviving the German symphonic tradition, with a nationalistic focus, and use of folk melodies, it should have been a model work of a Third Reich composer.