Paul Hindemith: “Complete” Works for Flute

The current decade seems to be emerging as one of a revived interest in the composer Paul Hindemith. The composer died in 1963, which is the year in which I entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a freshman. (I had also applied to Yale University, primarily because I knew that Hindemith was on the faculty of the Music Department.) When I launched a Music of the Twentieth Century program on the MIT campus radio station (whose call-letters at the time were WTBS), I was not shy in presenting Hindemith’s compositions. Nevertheless, as Pierre Boulez began to ascend into the position of “global authority,” Hindemith’s star quickly faded; and his “Germanic playfulness” succumbed to the rigid discipline of “French intellect.” (Historians of World War II will probably appreciate the irony of that transition.)

So it was that Hindemith did not surface on this site until September of 2007, when I wrote about Charlie Parker’s interest in the composer. (Mind you, by that time I would guess that there were many readers asking themselves, “Who is Charlie Parker?”) However, by March of 2020, I found myself writing about Ondine launching a project to record Hindemith’s chamber music. This would be a major undertaking, because Hindemith was so involved in writing works for just about every instrument or combination of instruments that his chamber repertoire was sure to be prolific. As a result, I was glad to see that Ondine is still at it, having recently released an album with the title Complete Works for Flute.

Now, to be fair, where Hindemith is concerned, “complete” is a dangerous adjective. I would say that his List of compositions Web page on Wikipedia amounts to an honest effort but not necessarily a thorough one. The three works listed under “Flute” in the “Solo (and chamber music sonatas with piano)” category can all be found on this new recording. In chronological order (as opposed to track order) these are the 1923 “Canonic sonatina for two Flutes,” the 1927 set of eight pieces for solo flute, and the 1936 flute and piano sonata. On the concertante site, there is the 1949 concerto for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, harp and orchestra. Ironically, what is missing is one of Hindemith’s best-known compositions, his 1922 “Kleine Kammermusik” for wind quintet.

On the other hand, the album has three selections that cannot be found on the Wikipedia list. The earliest of these is the second “Abendkonzert,” composed in 1932 and scored for solo flute and strings. (The “Abendkonzert” for three recorders is the only item in that category on the Wikipedia list.) “Enthusiasm” is a duo composed for flute and viola in 1942, and it is given its world premiere on the Ondine album. The third selection is “Echo,” composed for flute and piano in 1944.

Flutist Stathis Karapanos on the cover of his Ondine album (courtesy of Crossover Media)

The flutist on all the tracks of this Complete Works album is Stathis Karapanos. He clearly has a solid command of his instrument and can definitely be credited for “playing well with others.” Taken as a whole, the album is consistently engaging; so I see no need to pick nits with him over “missing content!” Instead, I am glad to see that a revived interest in Hindemith’s music is still rolling along over the course of this decade.