Symphony in B-flat for Band (Hindemith)

Symphony in B♭ for Band was written by Paul Hindemith, an influential German composer known for writing music in a variety of genres, including orchestral, opera, chamber, ballet, vocal and many more. The piece was completed in 1951 and premiered on April 5 of that year by the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" with the composer conducting (Miles, et al. 2010, 953).

Instrumentation

The Symphony in B♭ is scored for:

Woodwinds

• 2 Flutes
• Piccolo
• 2 Oboes
• E♭ Clarinet
• Solo, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd B♭ Clarinets
• Alto Clarinet
• Bass Clarinet
• 2 Bassoons
• 2 Alto Saxophones
• Tenor Saxophone
• Baritone Saxophone

Brass

• Solo, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Cornets
• 2 Trumpets
• 4 French horns
• 3 Trombones
• Baritone
• Tuba

Percussion

• Timpani
• Bass Drum
• Cymbals
• Glockenspiel
• Snare Drum
• Tambourine
• Triangle

Each instrument plays an integral role in the musical progression of the symphony.

Critical reception

Richard Franko Goldman, a bandmaster himself and a music critic of the mid-20th century, called the piece "singularly dead" (Goldman 1958, 128). He states that composing for band is difficult because "the agglomeration of instruments is irrational and exasperating" (Goldman 1958, 127).

He previously lamented that the piece falls "between the effort to be popular and obvious, and the intention to remain unsmiling and uncorrupted" (Goldman 1958, 127).

Performances

• The first Boston-area performance of Symphony in B♭ for Band was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on May 13, 1955 with conductor John Corley (MIT Concert Band 2007, 6).
• There are two recordings of this piece conducted by composer; Philharmonia Orchestra (1956, EMI) and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1959, ORFEO).

References

• Anon. n.d. "Symphony in B flat (1951) for Concert Band". Paul Hindemit.org (archive from 26 October 2009, accessed 6 February 2015).
• Goldman, Richard Franko. 1958. [Untitled record review of Hindemith, Symphony in B-Flat for Concert Band; Schoenberg, Theme and Variations, Opus 43 A; Stravinsky, Symphonies of Wind Instruments. Eastman Symphonic Wind Ensemble, cond. Frederick Fennell. 12" LP. Mercury MG 50143]. The Musical Quarterly 44, no. 1 (January): 126–28.
• Hindemith, Paul. 1951. Symphony in B flat for Concert Band (Score). Edition Schott 4063. Mainz: B. Schott's Söhne; New York: Schott Music Corp./Associated Music Publishers.
• Miles, Richard, Larry Blocher, Eugene Migliaro Corporon, Ray Cramer, Tim Lautzenheiser, and Lisk, Edward S. Lisk. 2010. Teaching Music through Performance in Band, Volume 1, second edition. [S.l.]: GIA Publications, Inc. ISBN 978-1-57999-788-5.
• MIT Concert Band. 2007. "MIT Concert Band, Director: Thomas Reynolds; Assistant Conductor: Stephen Babineau. Winter Concert, Saturday, December 15, 2007, 8:00pm, Kresge Auditorium". MIT Concert Band website (accessed 14 May 2014).
• Morgan, Robert P. 1991. Twentieth-Century Music. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
• Weiss, Scott A. 2006. "Paul Hindemith and the Genesis of the Symphony in B flat for Concert Band". In Kongressbericht Oberwölz/Steiermark 2004, edited by Bernhard Habla, 379–88. Alta Musica: Eine Publikation der Internationalen Gesellschaft zur Erforschung und Förderung der Blasmusik 25. Tutzing: Schneider. ISBN 3-7952-1203-0.

External links

• Symphony in B-flat for Band (Hindemith): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project (out of copyright in Canada only at present)
• Hindemith Foundation