Hindemith, Gould, and the Brass Players

I know, the title sounds like a bad fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. But the subject is one of my favorite records; spoken both as a brass player, and as a general music lover: Glenn Gould and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra playing Hindemith’s complete brass & piano sonatas on Columbia records. 

Glenn Gould, while best-known now for his brilliant, if eccentric recordings of Bach’s keyboard works (even including the bizarre recording of the Art of Fugue on organ and piano, also recorded music by the Second Viennese School, in addition to various other Renaissance Era and Twentieth Century composers. His wonderful recording of Hindemith’s Piano Sonatas, a recording which makes Hindemith seem warm, intimate, and humanistic, as compared to his often perceived cold and severe style, sets a brilliant precedent for future pianists. 

But its his recordings of Hindemith’s complete sonatas for brass instruments and piano which really sticks in my mind, years after I first heard it. Now the recording can only be heard in a series of mid-level, mid-price CD transfers, still on Columbia. Even so, Gould’s interpretations (along with his collaborators) are sometimes odd, or surprising, or goofy, but never boring. And do yourself a favor and try to track down the original vinyl recording for a real experience. 

This particular recording points to a common thread through Gould’s discography: his affinity for repertoire that is (how does one say?) off-the-beaten-path. Look at his discography on wikipedia. What living pianist has recorded discs with music of Orlando Gibbons and William Byrd, in addition to the Hindemith sonatas, and a disc of works by Alban Berg, Schoenberg, Ernst Krenek? Not as many as there should be. 

The brass playing on the Hindemith record is definitely old-school, which I like, and individualistic, which I love. I couldn’t, in good conscience, recommend a student listen to the brass players with the intention of emulating their sounds. Styles have changed, and records like this prove it. But, if we are ever to have soloists, chamber musicians, orchestral musicians, teachers, etc., who learn once again to think for themselves and come up with original ideas and interpretations and break free from the homogenous, bland, grey, boring sameness, we need to listen more than ever, to players such as these. 

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