Sebastian Grünewald News
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2022-05-25 06:00:02
In 1934, as the Nazis rose to power in his native Germany, Paul Hindemith worked concurrently on an opera and a symphony, both of which emerged from the same musical source. The opera, Mathis der Maler (“Mathias the Painter”), is a fictional account of the life of the German Renaissance painter, Mathias Grunewald (c. 1475-1528). It is set during Central Europe’s Peasants’ War of 1524, a brief, but tumultuous, rebellion which was ...
2022-01-27 06:54:00
Also, Nusch-Nuschi Tanze; Sancta Susanna, Op 21. Ausrine Stundyte, soprano; Renöe Morloc, contralto; Annette Schönmüller, mezzo-soprano; Caroline Baas, female voice; Enzo Brumm; male voice; Women of the Wiener Singakadamie (Chorus Master, Heinz Ferlesch); Marin Alsop, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.574283.By Karl W. NehringWhen asked to name some of our favorite symphonies, most of us will immediately begin to think of symphonies by the “usual suspects” such as Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Mahler, Sibelius, Bruckner, or perhaps Vaughan Williams. Well, those gentlemen would certainly figure on my list as well, but my list would also include a symphony by a composer who is seldom thought of as a symphonic composer, the German composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963). His three-movement Symphony ‘Mathis der Maler’ (Mathis the Painter) has long been one of my favorites, now available here in a newly released Naxos recording led by the gifted American conductor Marin Alsop.For those unfamiliar […]
2021-08-14 11:03:44
Royal Albert Hall, LondonVladimir Jurowski’s earned his end-of-evening medal with a refined display featuring a blazing ode to artistic integrity Vladimir Jurowski’s Prom with the London Philharmonic was his last concert as the orchestra’s principal conductor and whether by accident or design, his programme of largely 20th-century music closed with Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler Symphony, a work that to some extent seemed emblematic of his tenure. Jurowski has been radical in his innovative scheduling and his determination to redefine the parameters of the repertory: the symphony, which premiered in 1934 and draws its material from Hindemith’s opera about the life of Matthias Grünewald, delivers a fierce demand for the preservation of artistic integrity by remaining unswervingly true to one’s vision. Alert to the symphony’s mix of rigour, beauty and tension, Jurowski conducted with extraordinary fervour and intensity. Textures were clear yet warm, with a wonderful shimmer in the string chords that […]
2020-11-16 14:29:42
Hidemith at 125_2020
[…] only abroad, and his Jewish colleagues at the Hochschule lost their jobs. Initially, Hindemith thought that this descent into extreme radicalism i was temporary, that another cycle of elections would change everything back to normal – but there were no free elections to come. Hindemith embarked on writing a major composition, the opera Mathis der Maler, for which he wrote his own libretto. The protagonist of the opera is a historical figure, the painter Matthias Grünewald, famous for his incredible Isenheim Altarpiece. In 1934, at Furtwängler’s request, he composed a symphony based on the opera. The premier in Berlin was a huge success, but it only led to more attacks from the Nazis. Hindemith started thinking about emigration; at the same time he asked Furtwängler to intervene with Hitler on his behalf: he wanted Furtwängler to invite Hitler to a composition class of his. Furtwängler did write an open letter […]
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