Paul Hindemith: Sonatas for Viola/Piano & Viola Alone (1988)

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Sonatas for Viola and Piano
and Viola Alone

Kim Kashkashian viola
Robert Levin piano

Recorded 1985 and 1986
ECM New Series 1330-32

It was on one of his USA tours in 1937, Hindemith composed his final solo viola sonata. On the course of this trip, Hindemith gave several performances of his Op.25 No.1 sonata, as well as the newly composed viola concerto Der Schwenendreher (or the "Swan-turner") finished in 1935. The trip started in New York on March 25, 1937 and then later traveled to Washington, Boston, Chicago, and Buffalo. Hindemith was no doubt using this trip to establish himself in the USA so that he could pave way for himself to eventually emigrate there. To help add to his reputation, he released a statement before his concert in Chicago that he had plans to write a solo viola sonata in 2 days, and then perform it on his arrival. The manuscript was begun in New York City on Sunday April 18, 1937 and the completion occurred on April 21 in Chicago. It is apparent that the composition was completed within three days and it is probable that the main part of the 3-movement work was written on the train journey from New York to Chicago.

It is apparent that Hindemith was becoming increasingly displeased with himself as being known as a performer/composer in a letter written on April 21, 1937 (the completion date of the final sonata) to Hans Lange, the director of the orchestra in that concert. The letter reads:

Today I finished the sonata and wrote it out. There was little time to practice but I got down to it for a while I the evening before the concert. The usual reception, this time with dinner, was also before the concert…The concert was very noisy. First the Quartet Op. 22, played very nicely [performed by the Mischakoff String Quartet], then me playing the new sonata; which made no apparent impression, and to finish with the customary 'Schwanendreher' which, in the rather small, over-resonant room, and with brutal use of brass and other instruments, must have sounded rather like a dance of a herd of wild sea-lions.

Hindemith went on to write only one more work for viola, the 1939 sonata for viola and piano. After that, he essentially turned his focus to just composing. Despite his harsh self-criticisms about this work, this sonata remains to be my favorite of the four solo sonatas. It was written at a point in his life in which more focus was given to accessibility, and the music puts much more emphasis on consonant sounding intervals, especially 4ths and 5ths. This turn towards greater accessibility was a trend followed by many composers of the WWII generation, where the worldwide economy was in great flux, and the pressure of having a broader audience was felt by all.

The first movement, Lebhaft Halbe ("Fast half-note beats") also has many sections that emulate the locomotive. The second movement, Langsame Viertel ("Slow quarter-note beats") contains some more of Hindemith's most beautiful slow writing. The middle section is a wonderfully creative pizzicato section (where the instrument is plucked rather than bowed), and afterwards the opening material enters, refreshingly now in the key of D. The last movement, Mäßig schnell Viertel ("Very fast quarter-note beats") makes for a wonderfully exciting closer, full of virtoustic double stops and energy.________________
Disc: 1
1. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 31 Nr. 4 (1924): Ausserst labhaft
2. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 31 Nr. 4 (1924): Lied - Ruhig, mit wenig Ausdruck
3. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 31 Nr. 4 (1924): Thema mit Variationen: Schnelle Viertel - Langsam - Ziemlich lebhaft
4. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 25 Nr. 1 (1922): Breit; Sehr frisch und straff
5. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 25 Nr. 1 (1922): Sehr langsam
6. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 25 Nr. 1 (1922): Rasendes Zeitmass. Wild. Tonschonheit ist Nebensache
7. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 25 Nr. 1 (1922): Langsam, mit veil Ausdruck
8. Sonate fur Viola Solo (1937): Lebhafte Halbe
9. Sonate fur Viola Solo (1937): Langsame Viertel - Lebhaft (pizzicato)
10. Sonate fur Viola Solo (1937): Massig schnelle Viertel
11. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 11 Nr. 5 (1919): Lebhaft, aber nicht geeilt
12. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 11 Nr. 5 (1919): Massig schnell, mit viel Warme vorgetragen
13. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 11 Nr. 5 (1919): Scherzo
14. Sonate fur Viola Solo Op. 11 Nr. 5 (1919): In Form und Zeitmass einer Passacaglia
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Disc: 2
1. Sonate fur Viola und Piano Op. 11 Nr. 4 (1919): Phantasie
2. Sonate fur Viola und Piano Op. 11 Nr. 4 (1919): Thema mit Variationen
3. Sonate fur Viola und Piano Op. 11 Nr. 4 (1919): Finale mit Variationen
4. Sonate fur Viola und Piano Op. 25 Nr. 4 (1922): Sehr lebhaft, markiert und kraftvoll
5. Sonate fur Viola und Piano Op. 25 Nr. 4 (1922): Sehr langsame Viertel
6. Sonate fur Viola und Piano Op. 25 Nr. 4 (1922): Finale, lebhaft Viertel
7. Sonate fur Viola und Piano (1939): Briet, mit Kraft
8. Sonate fur Viola und Piano (1939): Sehr lebhaft
9. Sonate fur Viola und Piano (1939): Phantasie
10. Sonate fur Viola und Piano (1939): Finale