Hindemith, Paul. (1895-1963)
Autograph Manuscript of Corrections for "Mathis der Maler."
Autograph manuscript. 32mo (4 x 7.8 cm) notebook, 42 pp. + 14 individual perforated pages. The first page inscribed by the composer "Schreibfehler / Partitur / Mathis," the notebook being the composer's corrections and revisions for the score of his opera "Mathis, der Maler" including extensive musical notation, changes in dynamics and expressive markings etc. on 56 pages. Most entries in the notebook identified by the composer by page of the score and line/system to which the revisions apply. In very fine condition, a highly important source for the study of this work.Hindemith wrote both the libretto and the music for his opera "Mathis der Maler" ("Matthias the Painter"), about the German 15th/16th- century painter Matthias Grünewald. The finishing touches were completed in 1935, by which time performances in Germany had become problematic; nevertheless, for several years Hindemith attempted to secure a performance in Nazi Germany, where he was still living until 1938. The action, set during the German Peasants' War (1524-25), concerns Matthias's struggle for artistic expression in the repressive climate of his day and is clearly a mirror of Hindemith's own life as the Nazis came to power. The opera was first performed on 28 May, 1938 in the Stadttheater Zürich, conducted by Robert Denzler.
The full score of the opera was published in 1937 by Schott as a facsimile of the composer's manuscript. The present notebook apparently predates both that publication and the first performance of this important work. (6235)
Manuscript Music Classical Music