Hindemith conducts Symphonic Metamorphoses 4/4

Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Berlin Philharmonic, Paul Hindemith
Recorded 1955

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Paul
• Hindemith
• Symphonic
• Metamorphoses
• on
• Themes
• by
• Weber
• Berlin
• Philharmonic

[pindaric]

Outstanding. Lots of people play this too slow and lose much of its energy

[shellac1925]

I entirely agree with you. Furtwangler, for instance, adds an entire minute to the timing and the result is downright boring. (To be fair, he was a great Hindemith conductor. The piece just didn't suit him.)

[pastacooker]

Finally, a version on YouTube that isn't of an out of tune, squeaky band version.  And conducted by the composer himself! Thank you for posting!

[jazzmasta92]

Wish the trumpets would play in tune, all the time.

You should check out the Atlanta Symphony Playing this. American brass is better...always

[Bassoonist4496]

@shellac1925 The reason that taking it too slowly causes it to become boring is because the theme for this was taken from a funeral march that Weber wrote. Hindemith doubled the tempo, worked his magic, and this is the result.

[JoshuaAdamWeinberg]

I believe it's fair to critique the way that Hindemith conducts the Berlin Philharmoniker. Composer does not in fact equal a fantastic conductor, and vice versa. However, you cannot really go wrong with a quality recording of the Berlin Philharmoniker.

[hbkhplover]

Our band played this! It was so challenging and fun! Clarinets ftw!

[MsPandaRosa]

Final scene: a parade celebrating some ambiguous victory, and almost at once the musicians march into the so-called heroic soldiers, no-body's uniforms fit, it's starting to rain, everyone's been told something different to do... and yet it all comes together at the very end, into a crashing beauty, with sunshine and thunderheads, and a nefarious plan unknowingly thwarted...

...ah, I'm having too much fun with this.

Please, musicians, your thoughts?

[Wahl95]

I need to change my pants now.

[piliage]

@flugel76

Well...in my experience, most composers are poor conductors. I didn't say all, just most I've worked with. In full disclosure, I never played for Hindemith.

I use to believe the definitive interpretation would be the composer's, but after playing for Hans Werner Henze conducting his own work in 1989, I revised that opinion (it was a brutal run). I think Herbert Blomstedt's recording of this with San Francisco back in the 80s is better than this one. Oh, and forgive my ignorance...

[CarolinaGurl99]

I am going to be playing this piece for our Wind Ensemble. Our concert is inspired by German composers and songs written about Germany

[eliotgillum]

Only he can do it perfectly and it is stunning! If you're interested in getting your own copy--as I was compelled to do--I hope I can save you time by suggesting you search for "Hindemith conducts Hindemith" with the Berlin Philharmonic

[MsPandaRosa]

And so to the grand triumphancy of the finale.

I'm not good at tempo, just like having fun.

And this piece is a grand bit of fun, serious but enjoying itself all the way.