Paul Hindemith

A gifted string player renowned for his versatility, Paul Hindemith was born in Hanau in 1895 and later studied in Frankfurt. He formed the Amar Quartet in 1921, and then divided the 1920s between performance and writing adventurous concert and operatic works. Increased awareness of the artist’s role in society and the political crisis then engulfing Europe led to his opera Mathis der Maler, banned by the Nazis, which premiered in Zurich in 1938. Hindemith later moved to the U.S., where his status as a teacher was enhanced by such pieces as Symphonic Metamorphoses of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber (1943) for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the piano cycle Ludus Tonalis (1942), with its recreative approach to tonality. Returning to Europe in 1953, he enjoyed success as a conductor and wrote major works such as the 1957 opera Die Harmonie der Welt. He completed a Mass for unaccompanied chorus just weeks before his death in Frankfurt in 1963.