Sonata for Sonata for Solo Viola, Op.25, No. 1 by Paul Hindemith
Published by Schott
Both as violist and composer, Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) was thoroughly involved with contemporary music--he was a leading exponent of New Objectivity and neoclassical styles, and was much in demand as a soloist, premiering, among other works, Walton's Viola Concerto. During the rise of fascism in Germany, he emigrated to the United States, where he became a much-respected pedagogue.
Hindemith has a strong musical legacy for string players, with several concertos and many more sonatas and other chamber music to his name. His Op.25 collection of sonatas from 1922 contains one for cello solo, one for viola d'amore and piano, and two for solo viola, including this one, No. 1. It is perhaps the most striking and powerful of his solo sonatas, balancing lyricism with outbursts of angular fury redolent of the machine age, as in the fourth movement, which is marked ''Raging tempo. Wild. Beauty of tone is of a secondary consideration.'' For advanced players.
