Hindemith + Viola

 

Viola has always been one of my very favorite instruments, and, in my opinion, is sadly underutilized.  It is an ongoing mystery to me why there is not more viola literature and compositions.  This instrument speaks to me so deeply that I have often considered acquiring a viola and taking lessons.  

Paul Hindemith was a German composer of the 20th century; he died in 1963.  Hindemith is one of those composers wherein I love his chamber works more than his orchestral works.  I do like his orchestral works, but I am a huge fan of his chamber works, especially his string quartets.  My opinion is that he took more chances; was more exploratory and was expanding further in his chamber works.  I began pursuing his work when I was an undergrad music major, and I still listen to and learn from it today.

Hindemith was a violist, and composed beautifully for the instrument.  I stumbled across Hindemith's chamber works for viola in the late 1980s, and I still listen to them today.  My favorite performances of these are on the ECM New Series label, performed by Kim Kashkashian (viola), and Robert Levin (piano).  This is a 2-disc set, with the solo viola works on one disc, and the sonatas for viola and piano on the second disc.  While I have other recordings of these pieces, this remains for me the benchmark.  The performances are fiery and strong.  These are nearly abstract pieces, and to perform them well and to extract the maximum visceral impact and meaning from them requires that the performers hold nothing back and must be unafraid to take some chances.  The musicians need to attack the scores.  That's what I hear on this recording, and of course the ECM recording quality is among the best.  I highly recommend this set.

I've been listening to this set this week.  In fact, I am listening to it right now as I write this.  The writing for viola is dense, polytonal, angular.  The writing is jagged and full of compound lines.  Hindemith explores every register in the instrument without focusing on any specific register.  The richness and depth of the viola's burnished voice is on full display here.  I can almost picture the viola exploding from all this music bursting forth from it.  Many of the movements play out like a foreign film instead of a piece of music.  

In the sonatas for viola and piano, the piano is an equal partner, not relegated to mere accompaniment.

I have no doubt that Hindemith's viola compositions have seeped into some of what I do.  Or perhaps I should say that I hope that is the case.

-kk