Konzertmusiken
«It nows seems like a wave for serious and great music is gradually approaching,» Hindemith wrote to his publisher in 1931. This stylistic change, with its distancing from the music of the 1920s, was prepared by Hindemith himself in his 1929/30 series of «Konzertmusiken.» These were the Konzertmusik for solo viola and large chamber ensemble, Op. 48, the Konzertmusik for Piano, 2 Harps and Brass, Op. 49 as well as the Konzertmusik for Strings and Brass, Op. 50 (the last work that Hindemith designated with an opus number).
This stylistic change was then consolidated and confirmed in 1932 with the Philharmonisches Konzert that Hindemith contributed to the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Philharmonic. The term «Konzertmusik» describes with the institution of the «Konzert» (concerto) what is representative of this music, which is simpler, more accessible, more transparent, more harmonically regulated and more plastically formed than the series of Kammermusiken Nos. 1-7. All harshness, coarseness and avant-garde characteristics are expunged, as are sobriety and objectivity. In the final movement of the Konzertmusik, Op. 49 Hindemith even quotes a folksong for the first time: «So wünsch ich ihr ein' gute Nacht» (So I Wish Her a Good Night).
This simplification of the music, developed further by Hindemith during the course of the 1930s, was highly praised by contemporaries; Theodor W. Adorno wrote the following about the Philharmonisches Konzert: «[...] the melodic language is characterised by plasticity and relieved of all arbitrariness; the harmony is in control. In this capacity, there is nothing to prevent it from having clear recourse to tonality, as is already laid out in the main melodic motif: the point is simply that harmonic and melodic problems are posed in place of merely rhythmical and contrapuntal ones; if they are pursued consistently enough, they will, out of themselves, lead to both the purification and activation of Hindemith's style that seems to me to be required of it.»