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Midori plays Hindemith
In the 2012 / 2013 season, the former chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra has now focused on a German composer whose 50th death anniversary will be commemorated in 2013, and who left his mark on musical life there during his years in exile in the US: Paul Hindemith.

The 1939 Violin Concerto shows Hindemith at his classical best. "What a beautiful piece, it combines unique sonorities and textures with creative rhythms and a twist on romanticism!" was the verdict of violinist Midori on this much too rarely performed concerto.

Humorous masterpiece: Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphoses" were premiered in 1944 by the New York Philharmonic. The lofty title belies the humor of this brilliant orchestral study. Hindemith sends the themes of Carl Maria von Weber on a journey across styles: sometimes jazzy, sometimes Chinese, sometimes "all' Ongarese".

From the essay "Problems of a Contemporary Composer" by Paul Hindemith: Since the composer should not merely entertain the listener with his work, but should give him something, make him better, he must above all constantly work on himself.

Reviews

"It is above all Eschenbach's "verve" that thoroughly inspires in the "Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber". Clearly more brisk than the bulk of his colleagues, Eschenbach conceives of these pieces as a tour de force and uses them to let the NDR Symphony Orchestra shine in brilliant colors.in Midori, Eschenbach has also landed a truly gifted soloist for this recording, who seems to be much, much better today than she was in her "wunderkind days" in the 1980s. What a personality! What a stupendous technique. Truly: Midori is today a mature and deeply individual and soulful interpreter, who, although displaying a completely different style than the old Oistrakh did in those dark days, seems to have found her "center" in recent years and is today to be counted among the greatest violinists ever. It is a pity that the times of her great fame seem to be over. As far as musical performance is concerned, those times should be now, not twenty or thirty years ago." (Rainer Aschemeier, THE LISTENER)

"Personally, I find the best, because most balanced, recording of the magnificent Hindemith Violin Concerto with the wonderful Midori. This part of the CD has the makings of being called a must-have for any Hindemith collection." (R. Aschemeier, the-listener.de, August 2013)

"The almost brilliantly performing NDR Symphony Orchestra from Hamburg does ideal-brilliant justice to this brilliant score - no praise is too high. Eschenbach chooses the right brisk tempos, unleashes highly virtuosic, brilliant orchestral playing that remains transparent even in the tumultuous passages of the "Turandot" scherzo, and gives the rhythm a wonderfully casual "drive."" (FONO FORUM, December 2013)