Hall of Composers
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Paul Hindemith was born in Hanau, near Frankfort, Germany. He began his musical career as a violinist and violist and later turned to composition. In 1908 he began studying at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt with Arnold Mendelssohn and Bernhard Sekles. He joined the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra in 1914 and by 1917 was the concertmaster. In 1923 Hindemith left the orchestra to pursue composition full time. He continued to play viola in a string quartet (the Amar Quartet) and joined the committee of the Donaueschingen Festival, an important center for contemporary music. By 1930 Hindemith was at the height of his career in Germany. As the National Socialist Party began to take over, however, he was forced to emigrate to Switzerland and later the United States. He accepted a teaching position at Yale University in 1940 and continued to teach there until 1953. Although he became a U.S. citizen in 1946, Hindemith spent the last decade of his life in Europe.
Hindemith is most well known for his support of Gebrauchsmusik (Utility Music), music that was written with a specific function rather for music’s sake. Like many of his contemporaries, Hindemith also wrote several works for wind ensemble. His most well known work for band, Symphony in B-flat, was written for a performance with The United States Army Band, “Pershing’s Own.”
Selected works include Mathis der Maler (1933-35), Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber (1943), and Symphony in B-flat for Band. www.hindemith.org
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