Synopsis

In 1926, the German composer Paul Hindemith was the director of that year’s Donaueschingen Music Festival, which, since its inception in 1921, had quickly established itself as an important showcase for new and progressive music. For the 1926 Festival, Hindemith decided to spotlight a genre of music overlooked by many composers, namely music for wind bands, and contributed a work of his own, Concert Piece for Wind Orchestra, which premiered on today’s date in 1926 and was published as his Opus 41.

The critics of the day opined that the music was interesting, but lamented that such talented composers would waste their time writing for bands.

In his book Winds of Change, a history of band music and its reception, Dr. Frank Battisti explained: “In 1926, serious works for band were of no interest to German and Austrian band directors, who preferred to continue performing the standard repertory of transcriptions, arrangements, and marches. Critics, after hearing these works, remained convinced that the wind band would never become a medium of artistic musical expression.”

With the passage of time, and a dramatic change in the attitudes of band director and critics alike towards concert music for bands, Hindemith’s 1926 concert programming seems downright prophetic.

Music Played in Today's Program

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963): Concert Music for Winds; Eastman Wind Ensemble; Donald Hunsberger, conductor; CBS MK-44916