Hindemith Sonata analysis

[yoink]

I am playing the Hindemith tuba Sonata for my senior recital. My accompanist has asked if I could help her find an analysis of the third movement, specifically after the cadenza to help her understand the music to play it better. Not being the greatest with 12 tone analyses and all I was wondering if anyone happened to have one or knew where I could get one, or at least a start of one.

Thanks

[Alex C]

If she is looking for a pattern in those 16th notes, she's out of luck, there is no pattern. An analysis won't help her there.

I have sympathy for any pianist playing that part.

[yoink]

I have sympathy for any pianist playing that part.

Thanks. I am just glad I am not playing the piano part that is all I know.

[Uncle Buck]

I did an analysis in both undergrad and graduate school, but have no idea where I could dig it up.

As I recall, though, it is all about tension. Hindemith wrote about certain intervals having more tension than others. When I compared his theoretical writings on that issue with the piece, I found that he generally stuck with his theories and used those intervals to manipulate the tension throughout all movements, of course finishing with a nice Bb major release-of-all-tension at the end.

And that's about all I can remember from 1997, the last time I thought about it. Hope I'm at least remembering that 3,000-foot-view-memory correctly. And unless my memory has gotten really bad (possible . . .), the Sonata is NOT a 12 tone piece. I'm not sure there are even any segments of it that are 12 tone.

(12 tone is a very specific composition style - not a general label for anything other than traditional harmony.)

Oh, and I agree with Alex. Analysis won't make the part any easier to play. Even the very best pianists I have talked to complain that the most difficult aspect of that movement is the lack of any identifiable patters for the performer. The analysis could help the performers with musical interpretation, but not with mechanics. At least as I recall.

[GJDavis1]

Its not in 12 tone. Hindemith had his own unique compositional system that, while not the most conventional, relied heavily on melody. Don't try to analyze it with 12 tone technique or tonal analysis. If you want to analyze it, purchase or borrow one of Hindemith's self-authored books which describe his compositional system in detail.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I'm playing this accompaniment for the first time this year with a pretty good junior tuba major. In the past, I've always refused this particular sonata even though I've played all of the other brass/piano works by Hindemith.

All this time I was wrong. The tuba sonata isn't any harder than the others. It takes the same amount of preparation as the others and the same type of preparation...slow practice and muscle memory. Right now I'm also working on the trombone sonata and the concerto for horn...both are just a bit more difficult than the tuba sonata.

I'm no virtuoso, and I charge $50 for a student recital hour performance or jury and $100 for a junior/senior/graduate recital with two or more pieces. I don't charge "extra" for rehearsal time and in fact encourage the students I play for to indulge themselves of as much of it with me as they want (the really funny thing about this policy is that nearly all students fail to take advantage of this and wait until a couple of days before the event to rehearse with me).

I totally agree with the notion that an analysis of the work isn't going to assist in a pianist's preparation at all.

[k001k47]

I was wondering if anyone happened to have one or knew where I could get one, or at least a start of one.