Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Werner Andreas Albert.
I - The Gallows Brothers. Gemächlich - Fugato. (The Great Lalulä) - Viel Ruhiger: 0:00
II - Zoological Curiosities: Intermezzo. Sehr Lebhaft: 10:31
III - Palmstrom: Theme and variations. Im Mäßigen Zeitmaß - Presto - Sehr Langsam - Im Zeitmaß Eines Walzers - Mäßig Schnell - Genau Doppelt So Schnell - Sehr Lebhaft. Wild - Notturno. Sehr Langsam - Etwas Schneller - Finale. Sehr Lebhaft - Sehr Langsam: 14:23
Hindemith's Lustige Sinfonietta was composed in 1916, being his first major orchestral work. Like most of the composer's earliest juvenilia, it was neither published nor performed in his lifetime. Hindemith's style evolved too quickly to find appreciation for the score. It wasn't published until 1980, by then 17 years after the composer's death. The piece was premiered that year in Berlin on September 14, during the Berlin Music Festival, performed by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gerd Albrecht.
Just when Hindemith began work on the piece, he was notified of the death of his father in the western front of World War I. ''The war is so sad'', he wrote, ''that it would be a good thing, and would help us to get over so much, if one could oppose this whole period with the music-hall of humour.'' The work was apparently also inspired by the absurd and proto-surrealist poetry of Christian Morgenstern, taking several epigraphs for each section of the Sinfonietta. He also dedicated the work to the poet's memory: ''I am crazy about him, perhaps because he is as mad as I am, or vice-versa''. Whether we really have a comic sinfonietta here or the masking of a rather melancholy basic mood instead is very much open to question. The literary source behind the work would indeed allow for such an interpretation.
Hindemith's music did not latch onto any existing trend. In his harmony, he was influenced by French and Russian music, by Brahms in his use of form, by Reger in the chromatic tendencies of his writing and the use of contrapuntal techniques, by Strauss in his melodic élan, by Schreker in his orchestral colouration and by early Schönberg in the programmatic linking of instrumental music with poetry. In all this, Hindemith's genuine compositional gifts are revealed in the incredibly sure application of the adopted procedures, in the originality of the ideas in the works and in the ability to express himself musically at all, even if this expression was not yet unmistakably personal.
The first movement is structured in sonata form, taking its subtitle from a collection of poems by Morgenstern. It begins with a melancholic main theme in D minor presented by English horn and violas, vaguely reminiscent of a folksong. It moves to flutes and horns and reaches a passionate climax. A more pastoral second theme is introduced by flute with dotted rhythms, but quickly transforms in a sinister march. A highly expressive (almost Mahlerian) third theme then appears but fails to reach a climax two times. The development (named after a poem from the book) consists of a fugato, based mostly on a triplet figure from the main theme. It begins on woodwinds before more contrapuntal lines are added until reaching a dramatic climax. The material is then recapitulated in a varied way, ending with a sudden cadence after a prolonged diminuendo.
The second movement is an intermezzo loosely written in ternary form, and the origin of its subtitle is unknown. It opens with a rhythmic main theme introduce by woodwinds, unfolding as a triple-time toccata. The central section is hardly contrasting in expression, with a variation of the material being introduced by violin before woodwinds regain their prominence. A short-lived and tonally ambiguous climax leads to a similar final cadence as in the first movement.
The third movement is structurally complex; combining theme and variations, nocturne and a finale. Its subtitle references a character from the collection of poems: Palmstroem, a wanderer loner. It begins with a sustained and melodic main theme presented by strings. The first variation is more rhythmic and colourful, dominated by woodwinds. After a climax, the third variation is lyrical and contemplative, with solos from the English horn, flute and clarinet. The fourth takes the form of a waltz intoned by clarinet and bassoon. The sixth is more solemn and expansive, rising to a climactic Beethovenian peak. The nocturne section then ensues with a lyrical theme on woodwinds, offering great contrast. The finale then begins on piano with a jovial and rhythmic theme. At a powerful climax, the main theme of the first movement returns on violins and violas. The work ends with a diminuendo in which the music gradually fragments.
Picture: "Merry-Go-Round" (1916) by British painter Mark Gertler.
Sources: tinyurl.com/26pus7wf and tinyurl.com/28zxwqtu
Unfortunately, the score is not freely available.
Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Werner Andreas Albert.
I - The Gallows Brothers. Gemächlich - Fugato. (The Great Lalulä) - Viel Ruhiger: 0:00
II - Zoological Curiosities: Intermezzo. Sehr Lebhaft: 10:31
III - Palmstrom: Theme and variations. Im Mäßigen Zeitmaß - Presto - Sehr Langsam - Im Zeitmaß Eines Walzers - Mäßig Schnell - Genau Doppelt So Schnell - Sehr Lebhaft. Wild - Notturno. Sehr Langsam - Etwas Schneller - Finale. Sehr Lebhaft - Sehr Langsam: 14:23
Hindemith's Lustige Sinfonietta was composed in 1916, being his first major orchestral work. Like most of the composer's earliest juvenilia, it was neither published nor performed in his lifetime. Hindemith's style evolved too quickly to find appreciation for the score. It wasn't published until 1980, by then 17 years after the composer's death. The piece was premiered that year in Berlin on September 14, during the Berlin Music Festival, performed by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gerd Albrecht.
Just when Hindemith began work on the piece, he was notified of the death of his father in the western front of World War I. ''The war is so sad'', he wrote, ''that it would be a good thing, and would help us to get over so much, if one could oppose this whole period with the music-hall of humour.'' The work was apparently also inspired by the absurd and proto-surrealist poetry of Christian Morgenstern, taking several epigraphs for each section of the Sinfonietta. He also dedicated the work to the poet's memory: ''I am crazy about him, perhaps because he is as mad as I am, or vice-versa''. Whether we really have a comic sinfonietta here or the masking of a rather melancholy basic mood instead is very much open to question. The literary source behind the work would indeed allow for such an interpretation.
Hindemith's music did not latch onto any existing trend. In his harmony, he was influenced by French and Russian music, by Brahms in his use of form, by Reger in the chromatic tendencies of his writing and the use of contrapuntal techniques, by Strauss in his melodic élan, by Schreker in his orchestral colouration and by early Schönberg in the programmatic linking of instrumental music with poetry. In all this, Hindemith's genuine compositional gifts are revealed in the incredibly sure application of the adopted procedures, in the originality of the ideas in the works and in the ability to express himself musically at all, even if this expression was not yet unmistakably personal.
The first movement is structured in sonata form, taking its subtitle from a collection of poems by Morgenstern. It begins with a melancholic main theme in D minor presented by English horn and violas, vaguely reminiscent of a folksong. It moves to flutes and horns and reaches a passionate climax. A more pastoral second theme is introduced by flute with dotted rhythms, but quickly transforms in a sinister march. A highly expressive (almost Mahlerian) third theme then appears but fails to reach a climax two times. The development (named after a poem from the book) consists of a fugato, based mostly on a triplet figure from the main theme. It begins on woodwinds before more contrapuntal lines are added until reaching a dramatic climax. The material is then recapitulated in a varied way, ending with a sudden cadence after a prolonged diminuendo.
The second movement is an intermezzo loosely written in ternary form, and the origin of its subtitle is unknown. It opens with a rhythmic main theme introduce by woodwinds, unfolding as a triple-time toccata. The central section is hardly contrasting in expression, with a variation of the material being introduced by violin before woodwinds regain their prominence. A short-lived and tonally ambiguous climax leads to a similar final cadence as in the first movement.
The third movement is structurally complex; combining theme and variations, nocturne and a finale. Its subtitle references a character from the collection of poems: Palmstroem, a wanderer loner. It begins with a sustained and melodic main theme presented by strings. The first variation is more rhythmic and colourful, dominated by woodwinds. After a climax, the third variation is lyrical and contemplative, with solos from the English horn, flute and clarinet. The fourth takes the form of a waltz intoned by clarinet and bassoon. The sixth is more solemn and expansive, rising to a climactic Beethovenian peak. The nocturne section then ensues with a lyrical theme on woodwinds, offering great contrast. The finale then begins on piano with a jovial and rhythmic theme. At a powerful climax, the main theme of the first movement returns on violins and violas. The work ends with a diminuendo in which the music gradually fragments.
Picture: "Merry-Go-Round" (1916) by British painter Mark Gertler.
Sources: tinyurl.com/26pus7wf and tinyurl.com/28zxwqtu
Unfortunately, the score is not freely available.
