Hindemith: Music for One and Two Pianos (2 CD, FLAC)

Performer: Bernard Roberts, David Strong
Composer: Paul Hindemith
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Nimbus Records
Size: 503 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Piano Sonata No.1 in A major (“Der Main”)
Composed by Paul Hindemith
with Bernard Roberts

# Piano Sonata No.2 in G major
Composed by Paul Hindemith
with Bernard Roberts

# Piano Sonata No.3 in B flat major
Composed by Paul Hindemith
with Bernard Roberts

# Sonata for piano, 4 hands
Composed by Paul Hindemith
with David Strong, Bernard Roberts

# Ludus tonalis, cycle of 25 pieces for piano
Composed by Paul Hindemith
with Bernard Roberts

# Sonata for 2 pianos
Composed by Paul Hindemith
with David Strong, Bernard Roberts

Disc 1:
01. Sonata No. 1: Ruhig Bewegte Viertel
02. Sonata No. 1: Im Zeitmaß Eines Sehr Langsamen Marsches
03. Sonata No. 1: Lebhaft
04. Sonata No. 1: Ruhig Beegte Viertel, Wie Im Ersten Teil
05. Sonata No. 1: Lebhaft – Energisch – Sehr Lebhaft
06. Sonata No. 2: Mäßig Schnell
07. Sonata No. 2: Lebhaft
08. Sonata No. 2: Sehr Langsam – Rondo: Bewegt
09. Sonata No. 3: Ruhig Bewegte
10. Sonata No. 3: Sehr Lebhaft
11. Sonata No. 3: Mäßig Schnell
12. Sonata No. 3: Fugue: Lebhaft
13. Sonata For Piano, Four Hands: Mäßig Bewegt
14. Sonata For Piano, Four Hands: Lehaft
15. Sonata For Piano, Four Hands: Ruhig Bewegt – Sehr Lebhaft

Disc 2:
01. Ludus Tonalis: Praeludium
02. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga I
03. Ludus Tonalis: Interludium
04. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga II
05. Ludus Tonalis: Interludium
06. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga III
07. Ludus Tonalis, Fuga: Interludium
08. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga IV
09. Ludus Tonalis: Interludium
10. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga V
11. Ludus Tonalis: Interludium
12. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga VI
13. Ludus Tonalis: Interludium
14. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga VII
15. Ludus Tonalis: Interludium
16. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga VIII
17. Ludus Tonalis: Interludium
18. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga IX
19. Ludus Tonalis: Interludium
20. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga X
21. Ludus Tonalis: Interludium
22. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga XI
23. Ludus Tonalis: Interludium
24. Ludus Tonalis: Fuga XII
25. Ludus Tonalis: Postludium
26. Sonata For Two Pianos: Glockenspiel: Maestoso
27. Sonata For Two Pianos: Allegro
28. Sonata For Two Pianos: Kanon: Lento
29. Sonata For Two Pianos: Recitativ Eines Altenglischen Gedichtes
30. Sonata For Two Pianos: Fuge: Moderato

Excellent recording

Hindemith’s piano music is accessible and challenging both technically and musically. Ludus Tonalis is in some ways an homage to Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, recast as as twentieth-century work and an attempt to illustrate his thoughts on key relationships and harmony. The fugues and interludes work (fairly) well when played as a set; I’m not sure how well a smaller group would program. The three piano sonatas are more varied; the first is a five-movement work that tends to wander towards the end; the second, on a smaller scale, is almost a sonatina, and the third is a four-movement work ending with a difficult double fugue. The third is probably most well-known; it recalls late Beethoven and some Brahms while staying in the melodic and harmonic vocabulary Hindemith developed in the 1930s.

Having heard Bernard Roberts’ complete Beethoven sonatas and his Bach WTC, I was interested to see how he approaches Hindemith. This is an excellent recording of these works, and unlike the Beethoven recording, the sound and recording quality is consistently excellent. Roberts approaches these in an unaffected but expressive manner. I would recommend this set to anyone wanting a fine interpretation of these works; personally I prefer these version over those of Glenn Gould. Roberts plays this music closer to Brahms or Schubert, especially the sonatas, than others do; he balances the frequent counterpoint aspects of the music with the melodic sections.