Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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The International Mugham Center has hosted a special evening dedicated to celebrating the 130th anniversary of the renowned German composer Paul Hindemith (1925-1963), Azernews reports. The event was organized with the support of the German Embassy in Azerbaijan.

During the opening remarks, Honored Cultural Worker and esteemed radio and TV presenter Rahib Azeri highlighted the rich German cultural heritage, particularly its influence on Azerbaijani architecture.

Honored Artist, musicologist, Professor Zumrud Dadashzade spoke about Hindemith, emphasizing his significance as one of the most influential figures of the first half of the 20th century.

She outlined that Hindemith's compositions were regularly performed in Baku, notably at the Gara Garayev Contemporary Music Festivals.

Dadashzade quoted Hindemith himself: "Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." She described him as a composer who reverently upheld this fire while continuously exploring new, uncharted musical territories. Although often regarded as a prominent representative of neoclassicism, Hindemith's work defies simple categorization, blending seemingly incompatible elements. His compositions encompass profound philosophical themes—such as The Artist Matisse and Harmony of the World as well as avant-garde pieces featuring unconventional materials like newspaper advertisements and train schedules. He was also a pioneer of the applied music movement, aiming to engage a broader audience".

The evening's performance featured a captivating duet by international competition laureate Tofig Shikhiyev and soprano Nigar Jafarova, whose nuanced interpretation brought the essence of Hindemith's music to life.

The concert offered a rich journey through German musical history, tracing its evolution from the baroque polyphony of Bach, through the romantic masterpieces of Schubert and Brahms, to Hindemith's innovative experiments and the twilight romanticism of Richard Strauss.

Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895- 28 December 1963) was a German-American composer, music theorist, educator, violist, and conductor.

In 1921, he established the Amar Quartet, which toured widely across Europe. As a composer, he became a prominent supporter of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) style during the 1920s, producing works such as Kammermusik, some featuring the viola and viola d'amore as solo instruments, all composed in a neo-Bachian style.

His other significant works include the song cycle Das Marienleben (1923), Das Unaufhörliche (1931), Der Schwanendreher for viola and orchestra (1935), the opera Mathis der Maler (1938), the Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber (1943), and the oratorio When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd (1946), which is a requiem based on Walt Whitman's poetry.

Most of Hindemith's compositions are built around a central tone and employ musical structures, counterpoint, and cadences reminiscent of Baroque and Classical traditions.

His harmonic language is more contemporary, often incorporating all twelve notes of the chromatic scale within his tonal approach, as explained in his three-volume treatise, The Craft of Musical Composition.