IDAGIO | Hindemith: Complete Viola Music, Vol. 1

Featuring

Lawrence Power
Simon Crawford-Phillips
Paul Hindemith

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Instruments

Lawrence Power, the violist on this album, plays a rare viola made by the Bolognese maker Antonio Brensi around 1610.

Composer Biography

Paul Hindemith, the composer, began his musical career as a violinist and became leader of the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra at age nineteen.

Composition History

Hindemith wrote more solo repertoire for the viola than any other instrument, including seven sonatas for viola and piano or unaccompanied viola.

Composer Biography

Hindemith turned to the viola after World War I and became internationally renowned as a chamber musician and concert soloist, often performing with the Amar Quartet, which specialized in contemporary music.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Hindemith grouped many works into single opuses, a gesture that indicated his desire to move away from Romantic ideas that each composition should be a completely separate work of art.

Historical Context

By the time Hindemith composed Nobilissima visione, he had fallen out of favor with the Nazi regime, which banned his works and endangered his family, leading him to emigrate from Germany.