Uncommon ALS Reflecting on the Music Scene in Switzerland

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Item: 22717

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HINDEMITH, PAUL. (1895-1963). German composer and one of the outstanding figures in 20^th-century music theory and composition. ALS. (“Paul Hindemith”). ½p. 4to. Carqueiranne, August 23, 1926. To the well-known Swiss pianist and Bern Conservatory teacher FRANZ JOSEF HIRT (1899-1985). In German with translation.

“Everything is moving a little slowly: I did not receive your letter until just yesterday, and then my mother wrote and told me of the exchange of telegrams you had with my brother. I understand you offered 600frs. to play in the quartet, and my brother, who really knows nothing about this whole affair, demanded 800. Judging by your letter, I assume that that is too high, so let us leave it at 600. By German standards that is quite low, but I know the situation in Switzerland, especially as concerns new music. I will be here until early September, and then I will be in Switzerland for a while, probably around Zermatt. If I could meet you in Bern on my return trip, we could decide on the program. By the way we happened to meet your brother recently in Arles…”

Uncommon ALS Reflecting on the Music Scene in Switzerland

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Paul Hindemith

Hindemith performed frequently as a violinist, but by the mid-1920s he was known in the Frankfurt music scene for his compositional skills and well on his way to becoming the leading composer-performer of his generation. 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.

Written from the Hotel Beau Rivage in the Cote d’Azur town of Carqueiranne, where Hindemith was vacationing. The town became famous after the mysterious 1944 discovery of a body believed to be that of French writer and wartime pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Not published in Selected Letters of Paul Hindemith. Folded into quarters with two file holes along the left edge, affecting one word and some minor foxing; in very good condition.

Uncommon ALS Reflecting on the Music Scene in Switzerland