Rudolf Hindemith

Rudolf Hindemith (since 1951 officially Paul Quest, pseudonym Hans Lofer; 9 January 1900 in Frankfurt – 7 October 1974) was a German composer and conductor with roots in Silesia, as his father came from there. He mostly stood in the shadow of his more famous brother Paul, but was rediscovered in recent years.

Childhood and youth of two unequal brothers

In childhood, the two highly musical brothers Paul and Rudolf were the figurehead of the family.[1] In their youth they also began to make music together professionally, in the Amar Quartet, one of the leading groups of the Neue Musik scene of the 1920s, where Rudolf played the cello.[1] However, he soon dropped out, because he often felt set back behind Paul, and switched to the genre of brass music and jazz.[1] When Paul's brother emigrated from National Socialist Germany to Switzerland in 1938, he remained in Germany as a conductor. He became conductor of the symphony orchestra of the Generalgouvernement in Krakow, southern Poland.[2] This orchestra was a project of the Gauleiter Hans Frank, who was later hanged for his numerous crimes in 1946 at the Nuremberg Trials.[2]

Pseudonyms after 1945 and rediscovery

After the Second World War, Hindemith led an unstable life as a composer, conductor and also educator, and for the above-mentioned reason he changed into numerous pseudonyms. When he died in 1974 near Munich at the age of 74, completely isolated, his gravestone was inscribed with the words "Hans Lofer" - with which the chapter of Rudolf Hindemith seemed to be closed.[1]

But in the 1990s some of his students began to remember him more and more, even though he was considered a bad and bizarre teacher. In Bremen, there was a three-day Hindemith Festival in February 2002, which the Philharmonic Society there dedicated to some piano and chamber music.[1] In addition to a workshop there was a premiere of a piano concerto from the 1960s.[3] In his quirky way, Hindemith had entitled it "Suite for piano and orchestra".[1]

In 2005, the pianist Stephanie Timoschek dedicated her diploma thesis at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz to the person of Hindemith and especially to his piano works. His piano works include 6 Dances for piano, 7 Sonatas, 5 Piano Pieces, 7 Preludes and Fugues, 13 School Fugues, 27 Two-Part School Fugues and a Waltz from the opera after The Emperor's New Clothes.

Hindemith was married to Maria Landes-Hindemith (1901–1987) professor at the Musikhochschule in Munich.[4]

Work

In late 1920s, Hindemith undertook a new edition of some of the concertos composed by Georg Goltermann.

• Concerto I. A moll, Opus 14
• Concerto III. H moll, Opus 51
• Concerto IV. G dur, Opus 65
• Concerto VI. D dur, Opus 100

Recordings

• The Dreyer-Gaido label has released a 3 CD "Rudolf Hindemith Edition" between 2003 and 2010.[5]
• In 2008 Stephanie Timoschek recorded for the first time the complete piano works on 2 CDs for ORF.[6]
• The Amar Quartet with Rudolf Hindemith on violoncello can be heard on a CD of the Arbiter company (released 2011).[7]

References

1. Lück, Hartmut (2001). "Ein ruheloser Humorist". neue musikzeitung (in German). Regensburg. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
2. Prieberg, Fred K. (2015). Musik im NS-Staat. S. Fischer Verlag. ISBN 9783105608517.
3. Schalz-Laurenze, Ute (17 February 2001). "Klavierkonzert eines Radaubruders". Tageszeitung (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
4. "Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS) : LAGIS Hessen". www.lagis-hessen.de.
5. "Rudolf Hindemith Edition Volume 3". www.dreyer-gaido.de.
6. Hindemith: Das Klavierwerk – Stephanie Timoschek
7. "Hindemith as Interpreter: The Amar Hindemith String Quartet | Arbiter of Cultural Traditions".

External links

• Literature by and about Rudolf Hindemith in the German National Library catalogue
• Rudolf Hindemith discography at Discogs