Paul Hindemith was born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany, on November 16, 1895, and died in Frankfurt on December 28, 1963. The first performance of Hindemith's Symphony Mathis der Maler took place in Berlin, Germany, on March 12, 1934, with Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Symphony Mathis der Maler is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, glockenspiel, bass drum, castanets, snare drum, triangle, cymbals, and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-five minutes.
Paul Hindemith’s opera Mathis der Maler is based on the life of German Renaissance painter Matthias (or Mathis) Grünewald (c. 1475-1528). Grünewald is best known for his magnificent Altarpiece, created for the hospital chapel of Saint Anthony’s Monastery in Isenheim. The work now resides at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, France.
The opera takes place during the Protestant Reformation and the bloody Peasants’ Revolt, c.1524-26. Mathis, in the employ of Cardinal Albrecht, the Archbishop of Mainz, begins to question the justification for artistic expression during times of political turmoil. Mathis abandons his art to assist the peasants in their struggle but finally becomes disenchanted with the hypocrisy of both opposing factions. In a vision based on one of the Isenheim panels, Mathis becomes the tormented St. Anthony. After undergoing horrific temptation by demons, St. Anthony visits St. Paul (in the vision played by Cardinal Albrecht), who comforts him with a reaffirmation of Art as a holy service to God and Man. Mathis resumes his painting, now with renewed fervor of purpose.
While dealing with the central issue of the artist’s responsibility during times of political crisis, Hindemith, who created his own libretto for Mathis der Maler, also used the opera as a forum to criticize one of the Nazis’ infamous practices. In Mathis, an order from the Papal Legate mandates the burning of Lutheran texts. Riedinger, a wealthy burgher of Mainz, angrily questions: “Should a city that has always been distinguished for its freedom of thought start burning books?”
In July 1933, conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler commissioned Hindemith to compose a new orchestral work. Hindemith responded with the Symphony Mathis der Maler, based upon music from the opera. Hindemith completed his Symphony before the opera, and the work received its triumphant premiere on March 12, 1934, with Furtwängler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
That December at a Nazi rally, Joseph Goebbels leveled a personal attack on Hindemith. In January, Hindemith was given a six-month “leave of absence” from his teaching position at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Hindemith ultimately was allowed to return to the Hochschule, and occasional performances of his music took place in Germany. The premiere of the opera Mathis der Maler took place in Switzerland, at the Zürich Stadttheater, on May 28, 1938. Four months later, the composer and his wife left Germany, first for Switzerland and ultimately, the United States.
Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler Symphony is in three movements. The first, Engelkonzert (Concert of the Angels), serves as a Prelude to the opera. The title of the slow-tempo second movement, Grabelgung (Entombment) is derived from the Isenheim Altarpiece portraying the entombment of Jesus. The somber music functions in the opera as the Interlude between the opera’s final two scenes. The final movement, Versuchung des heiligen Antonius (The Temptation of St. Anthony), features music from the opera’s terrifying scene where Mathis, in the guise of St. Anthony, is haunted by demons. Finally, the music resolves to a glorious Alleluia.
program notes by Ken Meltzer
