HINDEMITH, PAUL. (1895-1963). German modernist composer. ANS. (“Your Hindemiths”). 2pp. Oblong 8vo. N.p., 1950. In German. A handwritten message written by Hindemith on the verso of a homemade, printed holiday greeting, “Season’s Greetings 1950 Christmas.”
“Many thanks! The Aschaffenberg discoveries are very interesting – but one still has a peculiar feeling about them. Wishing you well and goodbye… We have looked with great pleasure at the Frankfurter court book from last summer.”
Paul Hindemith
By the mid-1920s, Hindemith was known for his compositional skill as well as his participation in the Frankfurt music scene, most notably as a member of the administrative committee of the prestigious Donaueschingen Festival. He was considered the leading composer-performer of his generation and it was during this time that Hindemith lived in Kuhhirtenturm, a medieval tower that was part of Frankfurt’s old town fortifications. Hindemith promoted his musical theories through his various academic posts as well as his compositions. After his opera Mathis der Maler was banned by the Nazis in the early 1930s, Hindemith left his post as professor of composition at the Berlin Academy of Music, subsequently teaching at several European universities. However, difficulty making a living eventually led him to Yale where he taught from 1940 to 1953. Rejecting the 12-tone system of Arnold Schoenberg, Hindemith created his own harmonic system which used the principles of traditional tonality. His masterworks include Kammermusik, Symphonic Metamorphoses on a Theme by Weber, Sinfonia Serena and Die Harmonie der Welt.
A penciled note in an unidentified hand suggests that the book is related to research on the German renaissance painter, Matthias Gruenewald, who worked as court artist to the Archbishop of Mainz. Although many details of Gruenewald’s life remain unknown, he did also work in nearby Frankfurt. Only ten of his paintings are extant as many of his works were seized during wartime and lost at sea on their way to Sweden. His surviving works include his masterpiece, the famous Isenheim Altarpiece.
Folded vertically through the card’s center; otherwise fine.
