International Reputation
In the late 1920s, Hindemith was not only one of the most successful contemporary composers and in an acknowledged position at the Berlin Music Academy, but was also amongst the outstanding interpreters of his time. He performed concerts with the Amar Quartet until April 1929, although the coordination of rehearsals and concert dates became increasingly difficult due to his Berlin duties. He later formed a String Trio in Berlin together with Joseph Wolfsthal and Emanuel Feuermann. Szymon Goldberg took over the violin part in the Trio in 1932 after Wolfsthal's sudden death; the ensemble continued to exist until 1934.
Hindemith now made ever more frequent appearances as a soloist at orchestral concerts as well. He composed the solo concertos for viola (Kammermusik No. 5, Op. 36/4) and viola d'amore (Kammermusik No. 6, Op. 46/1), as well as the Konzertmusik Op. 48 for solo viola and large chamber orchestra with his own concertising activity in mind. Hindemith was also the soloist in the world premiere of the Viola Concerto by William Walton in October 1929. Darius Milhaud dedicated his Viola Concerto to Hindemith, who premiered it in December 1929.
Hindemith successfully concertised with many important conductors and musicians. In May 1933 the reviewer of a Viennese newspaper reported on chamber music concerts at the Brahms Festival: «Four artists with dazzling names: Schnabel, Huberman, Hindemith and Casals, were selected to perform several trios and quartets at two concerts. The four choice musicians were able, despite their most widely disparate, sharply pointed musical individualities, to conjure up splendid ensemble playing that did not, perhaps, completely correspond to the term chamber music, but still offered so much magnificence in sound and purity of expression that it was a pure delight.»
As an internationally recognised composer, Hindemith received commissions for new compositions. The Organ Concerto (Kammermusik No. 7, Op. 46/2) was commissioned by Frankfurt Radio and premiered in January 1928 for the consecration of the organ of that broadcasting station. In 1930 Hindemith composed the Konzertmusik for Piano, Brass and Harps, Op. 49 for the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Festival in Washington. During the same year he also wrote the Konzertmusik for Strings and Brass, Op. 50, a work commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky for the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.