Paul Hindemith (jan 1, 1895 – jan 1, 1963)
Description:
a prolific German composer, violist, violinist, teacher and conductor. In the 1920s, he became a major advocate of the Neue Sachlichkeit (new objectivity) style of music.Opera
A. Music in the Weimar Republic
1. Germans struggled with identity after World War I. There were several different responses, including that of Schoenberg and twelve-tone technique.
2. Another alternative was New Objectivity, a foil to the Romantic make-believe.
3. Zeitoper represents an interest in popular, relevant, and communicative art.
4. A related idea to Zeitoper is Gebrauchmusik—music for use.
5. The main proponent of this was Hindemith.
KEY TERMS
zeitoper: an opera genre of the Weimar Republic era. Like opera buffa it used contemporary settings and characters, comic or at least satiric plots, and aimed at accessibility. Two distinguishing characteristics are a tendency to incorporate modern technology and frequent allusions to popular music, especially jazz. This last, more than any social satire, earned the suspicion of the political right and ensured that it would not survive into the Nazi era.
gebrauchmusik: a German term, meaning "utility music", for music that exists not only for its own sake, but which was composed for some specific, identifiable purpose. Example: Trauermusik (funeral music) by Hindemith.
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 1, 1895
jan 1, 1963
~ 68 years