Hindemith Mathis Der
[keywordstowebsites]Hindemith Mathis Der[/keywordstowebsites]
 TAS STEINBERG hindemith toch LP mint- vinyl P 8364 US $64.00 
|
 ORMANDY paul hindemith mathis der maler LP promo vinyl US $16.00
|
 COLUMBIA LP: Paul HINDEMITH - Mathis Der Maler - NM US $24.99
|
How can instrumental music be controversial?
I've been reading up on different composers, and sometimes the articles will say that the pieces were controversial, or such and such regime opposed a certain kind of music or targeted a certain composer because of their music. They never say why, and I don't understand why.
For example, the Wikipedia article on Hindemith's Mathis der Maler Symphony says, "The symphony was well-received at its first performances, but Furtwängler faced criticism from the Nazi government for performing music that seemed to oppose party ideology." How does it oppose party ideology?
I'd really appreciate it if someone could point out some websites or books where I can learn more about this, I'm really interested in it.
Music can be 'controversial' for a number of reasons:
1 It can be strikingly 'new' or original, challenging the norms of the time (eg Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring' in 1913, already mentioned)
2 It can deal with uncomfortable subject matter (eg Penderecki's 'Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima' or Martinu's 'Gilgamesh')
3 It can cause displeasure and offend a dictator's taste (eg Shostakovich's 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk', which that nice Mr Stalin took exception to).
4 It can be music by a section of society seen by a totalitarian government as 'undesirable'. Mendelssohn's music was banned in Nazi Germany simply because he was born Jewish. All art by Jewish people was banned in Nazi Germany; that is why so many people fled Germany in the 1930s (for that reason and to avoid been sent to concentration camps for extermination!).
5 It can be perceived as challenging a totalitarian regime's policies (as in Shostakovich's 13th Symphony, which set poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko which attacked aspects of life in the USSR). This is also where Hindemith fell foul of the Nazis in Germany.
Hindemith was strongly opposed to the Nazis and their terrible reign of terror and he finally emigrated to the USA in 1940. The symphony 'Mathis der Maler' (Matthias the painter) is based on Hindemith's opera of the same name from 1938. The plot of the opera tells the story of a real person from history, Matthias Grünewald, whose struggle for artistic expression in the repressive political and cultural climate of his day is clearly a depiction of Hindemith's own difficult life in Nazi Germany.
All dictatorships thrive on misinformation and fear. However, the price they pay is their own paranoia (deep down, they know what they're doing is wrong), and so anything that appears to attack or parody them, they see as a real threat - as the Nazis did with Hindemith's opera (and, consequently, the symphony which used music from that opera). This is also the reason for so many composers in the Soviet Union being attacked during Stalin's time (and also under consequent regimes).
Whats On My YouTube Today?
Hindemith: Mathis der Maler Symphony (1/4)
Here Are A Few Items From Amazon You Might Be Interested In.
 Hindemith Conducts Hindemith: The Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon List Price: Sale Price: $12.66 You save: $11.32 (47%)  Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days  |
 Hindemith: Mathis der Maler Symphony / Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber / Nobilissima visone Suite ~ Sawallisch Sale Price: $18.79 Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Hindemith: Mathis der Maler List Price: Sale Price: $19.38 You save: $15.60 (45%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Hindemith: Mathis der Maler; Violin Concerto; Symphonic Metamorphoses List Price: Sale Price: $4.52 You save: $7.47 (62%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Hindemith: Mathis der Maler; Symphonie; Symphonische Metamorphosen; Nobilissima Visione [Australia] List Price: Sale Price: $9.79 You save: $4.19 (30%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Mathis Der Maler / Symphonic Metamorphosis List Price: Sale Price: $12.99 You save: $3.99 (23%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Hindemith: Symphony "Mathis der Maler", Concert Music for Strings & Brass, Der Schwanendreher (viola concerto) List Price: Sale Price: $6.30 You save: $6.68 (51%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Hindemith: Mathis der maler; Nobilissima Visione; Symphonic Metamorphosis List Price: Sale Price: $1.98 You save: $8.00 (80%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Hindemith: Symphony "Mathis der Maler" Symphonic Metamorphoses / Walton: Variations on a Theme by Hindemith Sale Price: $12.99 Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
Items recently purchased on this site:
Thanks for visiting!
Tags: hindemith mathis der maler bernstein, excerpts, hindemith mathis der maler kubelik, listening, hindemith mathis der maler, hindemith mathis der maler score