Hindemith Concert

That there should be over 300 people at a concert of twentieth-century chamber music is remarkable. This was, however, not the only remarkable factor in Monday evening's all-Hindemith program at Paine Hall.

Paul Hindemith's stature as a teacher, composer, and musikwissen-schafter is by this time very well established and the performers Monday night did great justice to his work. In his studies, Hindemith became versed in, and was capable of writing solo works for a varied number of instruments--a facet that the Paine Hall concert well showed.

The program started off with the Sonata for Oboe and Piano of 1938, with Michael Senturia '58 as oboist and Norma Bertolami Sapp as pianist. The angular melody of the oboe in the first movement was sharply contrasted to its piano accompaniment. The second movement, much slower and containing a fairly long melody for Hindemith, was marked by extreme clarity, as were all the sonatas.

The Sonata for Viola Solo, Opus 25, No.1, was the first of four pieces from the early 1920's, thus coming from the time before Hindemith was 30 years old. Hindemith, a concert violist himself, was familiar with the sonic abilities of that instrument. The piece was a study in dissonance, brought about by playing on two strings at once. The multiple-stopping was at times very difficult, but Eleftherios Eleftherakis played brilliantly for the most part. The piece and its performance were marked by a great richness of tone and lucidity.

Mary Fraley Johnson played the Sonata for Violoncello Solo, Opus 25, No. 3, in her usual dramatic and vehement manner. This piece is some-what similar to its predecessor from the same opus, but was not nearly so dissonant. It did, however, accentuate the same tonal richness.

Miss Lunn's Performance

Following the intermission came the most moving piece of the evening--Des Todes Tod, Opus 23a--in what was one of its first American performances. The piece is based on three poems by Eduard Reinacher and is scored for woman's voice, two violas and two 'celli. The soprano was Jean Lunn, who also organized the whole program. Her performance was outstanding, her interpretation dramatic, and her voice very clear. She was well supported by Miss Johnson and Judith Davidoff, 'cellists, and Mr. Eleftherakis and Joseph Pietropaolo, violists.

Harsh dissonance was toned down here, although a good contrast was maintained between the high soprano and the low strings. This was especially notable in the third song, in which Miss Lunn's voice was set off perfectly by Mr. Eleftherakis' muted viola.

Both Des Todes Tod and its successor on the program, Die Serenaden--a little cantata on Romantic texts for soprano, oboe, viola and violoncello--approached Hindemith's orchestral ideal of thick texture, rich tone and extensive contrapuntal treatment, with each instrument going its separate way. In "Der Wurm am Meer" in the second group of pieces in Die Serenaden, all four elements had different melodies that combined to form a coherent and colorful whole. Such terms might be used to describe the whole program.