Paul Hindemith - Complete Viola Music, Vol. 3 (Lawrence Power)

Information

Composer: Paul Hindemith

• (01) Konzertmusik, Op. 48
• (06) Der Schwanendreher
• (09) Trauermusik
• (10) Kammermusik No. 5, Op. 36 No. 4

Lawrence Power, viola
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
David Atherton, conductor

Date: 2011
Label: Hyperion
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67774

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Review

A superbly engineered disc which focuses on Hindemith’s viola concertos

Despite their varying titles and formats, the larger works here constitute Hindemith’s viola concertos Nos 1-3. Kammermusik No 5 (1927), still audibly a product of the enfant terrible of the early 1920s, already begins to hint at the later composer’s formal rigour, a conjunction of extremes carried further in the second of Hindemith’s much less well-known Konzertmusiken, scored for viola and large chamber orchestra (1930; the others comprise a suite for large wind band, a piano concerto with brass and harps and the diptych for strings and brass composed for the Boston Symphony’s 50th anniversary). In The Swan-turner (1935), Hindemith’s mature style – first heard in Das Unaufhörliche (1931) and writ large through Mathis der Maler (symphony and opera) – is fully realised.

Collections of the concertos (with or without Trauermusik of 1936) have been few and far between. Hyperion wisely avoids a chronological sequence, placing Konzertmusik first and Kammermusik last. Power’s affinity with Hindemith’s music is as evident in these new recordings as in previous instalments, his tone perfectly balanced between strength and delicacy, avoiding Cortese’s over-burnished sound, his being until now the finest collection and penetrating deeper to the music’s core than either Dean or Schmidt’s now ancient-sounding renditions on Koch Schwann. Hyperion’s beautifully natural recording is the best yet but it is the partnership with Atherton and the BBC Scottish that makes this such a rewarding listen; their performance of Kammermusik No 5 more than stands comparison with the best of the competition – Doktor and Kashkashian – and is swifter, too. Der Schwanendreher and the Konzertmusik really come alive and the icing is a touching Trauermusik which sounds like a newly discovered work. The new market leader, strongly recommended. Now, how about the viola d’amore works on Volume 4?

-- Guy Rickards, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=8842

https://www.allmusic.com/album/hindemith-music-for-viola-and-orchestra-mw0002094708

https://www.ft.com/content/b296c72e-3310-11e0-9a61-00144feabdc0

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jan/06/hindemith-music-viola-orchestra-review

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalcdreviews/8260431/Hindemith-Music-for-Viola-andOrchestra-CD-review.html

https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/hindemith-music-for-viola-and-orchestra-viola-lawrence-power-bbc-soatherton/

https://www.audaud.com/hindemith-complete-music-for-viola-and-orchestra-konzertmusik-op-48-der-schawnendreher-trauermusik-kammermusik-no-5-op-36-no-4-lawrence-power-viola-bbc-scottish-symphony-orche/

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Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895 – 28 December 1963) was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher and conductor. Hindemith is among the most significant German composers of his time. His early works are in a late romantic idiom, and he later produced expressionist works, before developing his neoclassical style in the 1920s. Notable compositions include his song cycle Das Marienleben (1923) and opera Mathis der Maler (1938). Hindemith's most popular work, both on record and in the concert hall, is probably the Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, written in 1943.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hindemith

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Lawrence Power (born 1977) is a British violist. Power studied with Mark Knight at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and with Karen Tuttle at the Juilliard School. He won 1st prize at the Primrose Competition in 1999. Since his London solo debut with The Philharmonia, he has performed in the UK and abroad, appearing as soloist with many leading orchestras. Power also has a prominent career as a chamber musician, as violist in the Nash Ensemble and the Leopold String Trio. He plays an instrument by Antonio Brensi of Bologna from c.1610. Most of his recordings are published by Hyperion Records.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Power

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