Hindemith
Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) was a German composer, theorist, and multi-instrumentalist who developed a neoclassical style grounded in his own theory of tonal hierarchy.
In Depth
Hindemith was one of the most versatile musicians of the 20th century — a virtuoso violist, competent on virtually every orchestral instrument, a prolific composer, and an influential theorist. His early works were provocatively modernist, but from the 1930s he developed a style he called Gebrauchsmusik ("utility music"), writing practical, accessible works alongside more ambitious compositions. His theoretical work The Craft of Musical Composition proposed a new system of tonal hierarchy based on acoustic properties.
His opera Mathis der Maler and the symphony derived from it are considered his masterworks, blending medieval subject matter with modern technique. His Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber is a brilliantly orchestrated showpiece. As a teacher at Yale, he influenced a generation of American composers. His Ludus Tonalis for piano, modeled on Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, showcases his contrapuntal mastery. Though less fashionable today than his contemporaries Bartók and Stravinsky, his music rewards repeated hearing with its craftsmanship and intellectual rigor.
Hindemith could play every instrument in the orchestra at a professional level — during rehearsals, he would occasionally take an instrument from a musician and demonstrate the correct passage himself.