Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Der Schwanendreher: Concerto based on old folk songs for viola and small orchestra (1935)
Five Pieces for String orchestra Op. 44 No. 4 (1927)
Luca Ranieri (viola)
Orchestra Ico Suoni del Sud/Marco Moresco
rec. 2023, Sala Bianca Foggia, Italy
Brilliant Classics 96975 [44]
Although he was said to be able to play every instrument in the orchestra, the viola was Hindemith’s favourite, and he wrote a good deal for it, both in chamber music and as a soloist in concertante works. Der Schwanendreher is one of these, a three-movement concerto. The title means the swan turner, i.e. the person who turned the spit in the days, thankfully now gone, in which swans were roasted for the dinners of the wealthy. However, Hindemith explained that his piece was intended to evoke a travelling minstrel, who meets a group of people having a party and plays for them. What he plays is based on folk songs, the last of which is about the man turning the spit. The folk songs have all been identified, though English speakers will not know them.
The piece itself is a very attractive one. Violists have, of course, seized on it, as a valuable addition to the meagre repertoire of concertos for their instrument. The first movement opens with a display by the soloist and then leads into the first song, which is developed in sonata form. This is a typically busy and energetic Hindemith movement. The second movement is quieter, beginning with a dialogue between viola and harp and then a love song. The mood changes when a perky bassoon introduces a children’s song. The finale brings in the title song with eleven variations, two of which have cadenzas.
With it here we get the Five Pieces for string orchestra. This is one of the examples of what Hindemith called Gebrauchsmusik, that is practical music intended for community use. These pieces could be played by amateurs or school ensembles, but Hindemith was in no sense lowering his standards, any more than did Britten or Maxwell Davies in their works for young people, which were partly inspired by Hindemith’s examples. The Five Pieces are of no great moment in themselves, but are attractively varied and well worth hearing.
The performances here are by the orchestra Ico Suoni del Sud, of whom I had not previously heard, and about whom there is nothing in the booklet. They play crisply and brightly, rather like the recording by Neville Marriner with his Academy. Luca Ranieri is an expressive soloist in Der Schwanendreher. He is balanced rather forward, but acceptably so and the recording is good.
However, there is strong competition as far as Der Schwanendreher is concerned. Lawrence Power with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under David Atherton on Hyperion offers it along with two other Hindemith viola concertante works, the Op. 48 Konzertmusik and the Trauermusik, while Brett Dean with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Werner Andreas Alabert on CPO plays all those plus Kammermusik No. 5, which is another viola concerto. There are also various other versions of the Five Pieces, including one, by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony which uses it as a filler for the complete Nobilissima Visione ballet, which is a rarity in its complete version. However, if this coupling suits, Hindemithians should not hesitate. And the cover picture is delightful!
Stephen Barber
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