Paul Hindemith - Complete Viola Music, Vol. 1 (Lawrence Power)

Information

Composer: Paul Hindemith

• (01) Viola Sonata
• (05) Viola Sonata in F major, Op. 11 No. 4
• (08) Viola Sonata, Op. 25 No. 4
• (11) Meditation (Movement from Nobilissima visione)

Lawrence Power, viola
Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano

Date: 2009
Label: Hyperion
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67721

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Review

All Hindemith’s hits and more, played with true conviction

Paul Hindemith isn’t exactly the first composer you think of when the term “hit tune” is mentioned but the opening Fantasie of his F major Viola Sonata (Op 11 No 4) of 1919 comes pretty close to providing one, especially as “sung” by viola-player Lawrence Power. “Might almost be by Brahms…” says Malcolm MacDonald in a typically persuasive and informative booklet-note, which is surely true. The finale is a fairly assertive mood-breaker, pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips marking a dramatic contrast in tempo and colour (now this really does sound like “updated” Brahms). The grittier Sonata of 1939 also includes a Phantasie, placed third in the structure rather than first. This is the Hindemith of the Mathis der Maler Symphony, purposeful music, square-jawed, angular, confident and assertive, though with more fanciful elements too – especially in the finale, which at times is both playful and delicate.

MacDonald notes the possible influence of Bartók on the Sonata Op 25 No 4 (1922), which seems to me a justified claim. This is another strong piece, more percussive than the 1939 Sonata, with a desolate but heart-rending slow movement that is savagely interrupted by the finale’s aggressive arrival. The CD (Vol 1 of “The Complete Hindemith Viola Music” is what it’s called), which is superbly recorded, is completed with a sensitive performance of the serene Meditation from Nobilissima visione in Hindemith’s own arrangement for viola and piano. As to the performances, I shan’t indulge in pointless hyperbole but I will say that not since the days of William Primrose have I heard Hindemith’s viola music played with such warmth and conviction and, as I’ve already suggested, the pianist is first-rate. A 100 per cent success story.

-- Rob Cowan, Gramophone

More reviews:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=222971

http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=7191
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/19/hindemith-viola-sonatas

https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-hindemith-viola-music-vol-1-viola-sonatas-mw0001428081

https://www.thestrad.com/hindemith-complete-viola-music-vol1-viola-sonatas-op11-no4-op25-no4-and-1939-meditation-from-nobilissima-visione/2818.article

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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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Simon Crawford-Phillips has established an unusually varied career as soloist, chamber musician, lieder accompanist and most recently as a conductor. A founding member of the Kunsgbacka Trio, he also performs regularly in a piano duo with Philip Moore, and in collaborations with such artists as Alison Balsom, Martin Fröst, Daniel Hope, Pekka Kussisto and Lawrence Power. Crawford-Phillips has made numerous recordings, including many recordings with Lawrence Power for Hyperion. He is holding teaching positions at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg.
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/a.asp?a=A1600
http://www.simoncrawford-phillips.com/

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