AFAIK, it is a twelve tone row-ish melody in the beginning.
Just remember, all of hindemith's good stuff ends in Bb. Plus he played this on tuba himself so you know he probabably wrote it in the key easiest for him to play it on the tuba, and i bet he was using a BBb and it seems like it was probably a 3 valve-er at that.
Music theorists/majors: Hindemith Sonata
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The Impaler
- 3 valves
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Be careful when associating traditional keys to Hindemith, because you'll find that it doesn't really work. Hindemith's compositional style is based on stress, weight, and relief and thus he will composed around a 'tonal center' but at the same time be using all twelve chromatic tones to emphasize that 'key center'. It's best to check out his 'Craft' books, or some of the books by David Neumeyer (sp?), who's a great Hindemith scholar and a theory professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Cale Self
Assistant Professor of Music
Acting Director of Bands & Instructor of Low Brass
University of West Georgia
Carrollton, GA
Assistant Professor of Music
Acting Director of Bands & Instructor of Low Brass
University of West Georgia
Carrollton, GA
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chronolith
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Hindemith's "Sonatas"
Measuring any of Hindemith's "Sonatas" by the tradition Sonata/Allegro form ruler will get you into trouble. His brass sonatas are called sonatas only in a nod to traditonal similar pieces that follow the form. If you look at the modern form of the symphony for example, many of the rules have been rejected in the 20th century. Four movements, cyclic themes, etc...
Hindemith himself wrote a book about the way tonality is changing and what we hear as consonance and dissonance blurs over time. There was a time when the major third was considered a very harsh and dissonant sound. He was very forward looking on musical topics, and that inlcudes traditional form.
You would do best to reference the free thinking form elements of Hindemith's sonatas in general. As somebody else mentioned already, pay close attention to his tonal "centers", chromaticism, and especial his affinity for perfect fourths melodically. They help to lead his tonality in the sonatas.
Hindemith himself wrote a book about the way tonality is changing and what we hear as consonance and dissonance blurs over time. There was a time when the major third was considered a very harsh and dissonant sound. He was very forward looking on musical topics, and that inlcudes traditional form.
You would do best to reference the free thinking form elements of Hindemith's sonatas in general. As somebody else mentioned already, pay close attention to his tonal "centers", chromaticism, and especial his affinity for perfect fourths melodically. They help to lead his tonality in the sonatas.
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tjonp
- bugler
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Re: Hindemith's humor?
It's a bit of a stretch...reitan wrote:If you octave down the second and the fourth note of the tubapart in the first movement, you'll get the beginning of "I've got rythm". And we all agree that the entire piece is a rythmical game between the tubaplayer and the pianist?
Great sense of humor from the composer, if you ask me...
