Hindemith: Kammermusik Concertos Nos. 1-7 ~ Chailly [Import]

Hindemith (Composer), Chailly (Conductor), Royal Concertgebouw Orch (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orch
• Conductor: Chailly
• Composer: Hindemith
• Audio CD (October 13, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Decca Import
• ASIN: B00008MLTZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #229,491 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. (Cd 1) 1-4 Kammermusik No.1, Op.24 No.1

2. (5-9) Kleine Kammermusik, Op.24 No.2

3. (10-13) Kammermusik No.2, Op.36 No.1

4. (14-17) Kammermusik No.3, Op.36 No.2

5. (Cd 2) 1-5 Kammermusik No.4, Op.36 No.3

6. (6-9) Kammermusik No.5, Op.36 No.4

7. (10-13) Kammermusik No.6, Op.46 No.1

8. (14-16) Kammermusik No.7, Op.46 No.2

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spikey Early Modernism, March 19, 2005

By 

Christopher Forbes "weirdears" (Brooklyn,, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hindemith: Kammermusik Concertos Nos. 1-7 ~ Chailly (Audio CD)

Poor Paul Hindemith. He began his career as one of music's bad boys, a position guarenteed by his scandalous expressionist opera Sancta Susannah and ended his life as the arch conservative of his era. He created a modern system every bit as rigorous as Schoenberg's and yet within a few years of his death that system was dropped by almost any composer still using it. And he enthusiastically embraced the idea of writing music for practical use, including children's works, and works for student instrumentalists. As a result, most people have the overwhelming impression that the composer was a prolific, well crafted, but not very inspired journeyman musician. However in Hindemith's strongest pieces this impression is exposed as the falsehood that it is. The composer could be capable of music at the highest level of inspiration, and which reached for new sonority in a most uncompromising manner.

The Kammermusik represented on this disc are products of Hindemith's first musical maturity. Written primarily in the 1920s these mini-concerti are chalk full of melodic sparkle and harmonic invention. The varied chamber orchestras in the works are dominated by wind sonorities which can't help but bring out associations with jazz and American popular music. But the beatifully crafted counterpoint harkens to the composer's love and reverence for Bach. The language is tonal, but Hindemith stretches the bonds of tonality in ways that come close to the expressionism of the Viennese school, without the accompanying hysteria and angst. Each of the concerti is characterized by the sound of its solo instrument, but they all share a formal debt to the Bach Brandenburg concerti and to American Dance Bands. The music is often quite dissonant, but at the end of the day the bright melodic material and exhuberant high spirits win over atonal anxiety.

This recording includes all of the Kammermusik concerti, along with the Kleine Kammermusik...really a suite for Wind Quintet. Chailly is magnificent in this repertoire. He does not shy away from the thorny passages but still infuses the works with high spirits and a warmth that is not usually associated with Hindemith. Highly recommended as an introduction into this composer and what makes him truly special.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly virtuoso performing., November 14, 2005

By 

Paco Yáńez (Santiago de Compostela) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hindemith: Kammermusik Concertos Nos. 1-7 ~ Chailly (Audio CD)

I know two recordings of this concerts, this one and the played by the Ensemble Modern (RCA). Both are really outstanding, a bit more classical this one conducted by Chailly (Decca) and more modernist the german one, conducted by Markus Stenz.

Chailly conducting I based on technical perfection, great musicality and the total well-balanced presence of the orchestra, which really sounds like a soloist. The rhythm of every piece is really well chosen by Chailly, with fresh tempi conducting, a really joy for yours ears and one of the most remarkable Chailly's CDs by the critics and reviewers.

The sound is really very good and it's now available in mid price after many years very hard to find.

It's a great complement to have Ensemble Modern's version, because of the very different sound they can produce, much more like chamber music and more modern, apart of being more technical and "german".

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent recording, July 29, 2003

By 

Jeremiah Lawson (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kammermusik 1-7 (Audio CD)

The sound quality on this disc is good and the performances are also first rate. The inclusion of Kleine Kammermusik (the woodwind quintet) is unusual but welcome.

If you're not a Hindemith fan then this CD will be too big a dose for you. This is all early material and the influence of Stravinsky on Hindemith's early work really shows in this series, especially in kammermusik 1 where hints of Petrushka can be heard. The most popular works in this series deserve their pride of place, the first work, the wind quintet, and the cello and viola concertos. The piano and violin concertos are too much formal elegance over tunes for my taste, even as a Hindemith fan.
The organ concerto's a bit later and reflects more of the Mathis der Maler era Hindemith.

If you're just looking for the more accessible Hindemith works from this series go for another disk but if you want a solid recording of the whole cycle this is the album you want.