Mov.1: Ruhig bewegt 00:06
Mov.2: Lebhaft 02:33
Mov.3: Sehr langsam 06:24
Mov.4: Das Posthorn (Zwiegespräch) : Lebhaft (♩‧ and ♪.= 60) 08:43
A.Horn. Michelle Baker
Pf. David Korevaar
When Hindemith discovered that the alto horn wasn't as common in the United States as he'd thought, he authorized substitution of alto saxophone or standard horn in this sonata. In any case, it's the same work, typical of Hindemith in every respect, except for the inclusion of a poem to be recited by the players. The opening "Ruhig bewegt" movement is a short, wistful prelude, setting a tone of pastoral nostalgia to which Hindemith will later return. Suddenly, a vigorous mini-rondo bursts in, the horn and piano trading off the primary phrases. The music lurches into a contrapuntal, metrically irregular theme; after the instruments seem to stumble into a moment of inertia, the opening theme carries the movement to a more conventional ending. The slow movement, "Sehr langsam," is short, lyrical (based on two contrasting ideas), and toward the end, almost bluesy. The finale, "Lehaft," begins not with music but with the horn player reading a poem by Hindemith, The Posthorn (Dialogue). The text links the sound of the horn to the distant past, evoking "pallid yearning, melancholy longing." The pianist replies to the hornist, in part, "Your task it is, amid confusion, rush, and noise to grasp the lasting, calm, and meaningful, and finding it anew, to hold and treasure it." The pianist then plays rapid figures possibly evoking "confusion, rush, and noise"; the horn soloist responds with a very lyrical melody, recalling the mood of the opening movement, but now in a more outgoing manner. The piano's "confusion" music intertwines with the horn's song-like material, bringing the sonata to a conclusion that is simultaneously exciting and comforting.
23 мар 2019
