The biographies of three composers who, in this century, have dominated the mainstream development of German music are contained in this book: Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905-63) and Hans Werner Henze (b. 1926). Despite markedly different approaches (and political sensibilities) all three have united experimentation with traditional (German) expression. Hartmann has remained an influence on Henze's music while both were influenced early in their careers by Hindemith. Although born at different times, coming from different backgrounds and locations, there are parallels between their careers, particularly during the crucial period when the Nazis were in power and in the aftermath of the German defeat. All three suffered exile or alienation from German life: Hindemith on musical, rather than ideological, grounds; Hartmann remaining in Germany but refusing to have anything to do with the Nazis or their musical establishment; and Henze, disgusted at the state of the emergent Federal Republic of West Germany after the war, leaving for Italy where he has lived ever since. This text is part of the 20th-century composers series, examining composers in a biographical context, and offering a comprehensive study of key figures in the creation of 20th-century music. None of the books in the series presume a knowledge of specialized terms or musical notation. Each book in discography.
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This handy little tome consists of three portraits of influential German musicians of the 20th century, apparently brought together for the sake of alliteration and because of a common opposition to Nazism. Hindemith, although not actually particularly avant-garde in his idiom, became identified in the minds of the Nazi leaders with certain cultural trends they despised and was forced by them to flee to America. Hartmann, fortunate in his wife's wealth, led a reclusive life during the Nazi period, emerging to growing popularity in postwar Germany. Guy Rickards's greatest admiration, however, which is as much political as musical, seems to be reserved for the not conspicuously talented Henze. This composer could stand as an archetype of the postwar-era German artist and intellectual: he was reflexively left wing and scornful of the West and all its works. But Henze's sometimes hypocritical preoccupation with radical politics, including the dedication of an oratorio to the Communist revolutionary Che Guevara, and support for the discredited East German regime while living a life of decadent capitalist ease in Italy, may come to seem absurd in our post-communist world. This portion of the book will be enjoyed primarily by those already convinced of the worth of Henze's output and politics.
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