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Paul Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber for Orchestra: A Historical and Analytical Perspective

Daniel A. Jones
Daniel A. Jones
   | Dec 31, 2020
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Published Online: Dec 31, 2020
Page range: 60 - 71
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/muso-2020-0005
Keywords
© 2020 Daniel A. Jones, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

This article is centered on an analysis of how Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) converted piano duets by Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) to orchestra in his Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber. A transcendent debate among existing studies concerns the extent to which Hindemith metamorphized the Weber pieces beyond dutiful orchestrations. Disparate opinions on the debate will be highlighted; however, the goal here is not to determine if Hindemith was accurate in using the term ‘metamorphosis’. Instead, I intend to show that he recrafted the Weber in his method of composition resulting in varying levels of transformation throughout the piece, but with the distinct Hindemithian sound being omnipresent throughout.

Symphonic Metamorphosis, most notably the ‘March’, is perhaps more popular among wind bands than orchestras; nevertheless, the music was initially intended for ballet in collaboration with choreographer Léonide Massine. An explanation of how music, now synonymous with orchestral and wind repertoire, was originally piano pieces that eventually became a ballet score, is contained herein. Also included is a comparative analysis between Weber's original works and Hindemith's treatments. Where pertinent, specific historical information is provided for each movement.

Symphonic Metamorphosis arose from what was originally supposed to be ballet music based on various Weber works. The idea arose from a conversation with Massine in 1938

S. Desbruslais, The Music and Music Theory of Paul Hindemith, Woodbridge, The Boydell Press, 2018. Hindemith and Massine had previously collaborated on the 1937 ballet Nobilissima Visione (260).

. While composing the ballet, Hindemith became convinced that his music would form an excellent orchestral suite. He subsequently terminated his contract with Massine in 1940, partially due to the facts that Massine wanted Salvador Dali to design sets and expected Hindemith to just simply orchestrate Weber's piano music. In a letter to his wife, Gertrude, Hindemith exclaims, “It seems that the music is too complicated for them and that they simply wanted an exact orchestral arrangement of the original Weber. I am not just an orchestrator and furthermore I already told them what I was going to do.”

L. Noss, Paul Hindemith in the United States, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989, p. 78. Paul Hindemith's letter to Gertrude Hindemith, 12 April 1940.

 Hindemith did not set out to merely arrange or transcribe piano duets, but rather to evolve them into original orchestral compositions based on skeletal frameworks.

Not until 1943 did Hindemith finish the orchestral suite. In the three previous years he had completed other major works, which dispel the assertion that Symphonic Metamorphosis was his first American work

I. Kemp, ‘Preface’ to the score of Paul Hindemith, Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, London, Ernst Eulenburg Ltd, 1984, p. III.

. It was evident that Hindemith had not abandoned the project and Weber's piano duets were on his mind. A 1942 letter to Ernst Voigt – then president of the Associated Music Publishers (AMP) – reads, “I am thinking of composing a Weber Suite for symphony orchestra and also for band.”

Noss, Paul Hindemith…, p. 120.

 Then Yale University Director of Bands, Keith Wilson, eventually arranged the entire work for wind band

Noss, Paul Hindemith…, p. 120. Wilson assisted Hindemith in converting his 1926 Konzertmusik Op. 41, written for European military band, to the 1951 Symphony in B-flat written for an American style concert band (136–7).

.

The first and fourth movements are based on piano duets composed by Weber in 1818 as part of Huit Pièces pour le Piano forte à 4 mains Op. 60, Nos. 4 and 7, respectively. The second movement was based on Weber's overture to Turandot (1809), which was the beginning of the incidental music written for Friedrich Schiller's translation of Carlo Gozzi's Turandotte. The third movement also comes from a piano duet taken out of Six Pièces pour le Pianoforte à quatre mains Op. 10 No. 2

Kemp, ‘Preface’, pp. VI–VII.

.

After the premiere of Symphonic Metamorphosis by the New York Philharmonic on 20 January 1944, under the direction of Artur Rodzinski, nearly twenty years passed before it was documented exactly which Weber pieces had been used for each of Hindemith's movements. It was then surmised by Brennecke (1963) that Hindemith did not just orchestrate the piano duets, but rather significantly altered much of the thematic material

Wilfried Brennecke, ‘Die Metamorphosen-Werke von Richard Strauss und Paul Hindemith’, Schweizerische Musikzeitung, nos. 103/104, 1963, pp. 276–284.

. The composer felt he was free to embellish Weber's works as they were not the strongest themes in his opinion, “He [Hindemith] has remarked that since these are by no means the best of Weber's themes, he has felt freer to treat them as he pleases!”

O. Downes, ‘Rodzinski Offers Hindemith Music’, New York Times, 21 January 1944.

 Nonetheless, Symphonic Metamorphosis was well received as an orchestral, wind band, and stage work in the later decades.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

It should be noted that the first comprehensive form-study of Symphonic Metamorphosis was published by Wilfried Brennecke in 1963; however, that study does not demonstrate, in depth, how Hindemith orchestrated Weber's works, nor does it elaborate on thematic or harmonic transformations

Brennecke, ‘Die Metamorphosen-Werke…’, pp. 276–284. The following diagrams are similar, but not beholden to Brennecke's (1963) structural analysis. Brennecke provides suggested tempo markings, meter observations, and some information on thematic transformation. Where this present study differs is in the suggested section lengths of the four movements in terms of bar numbers (Table 1). In addition, this study provides a comprehensive guide to thematic and harmonic transformation.

. The following analysis will describe which instruments, or instrument families, play the original Weber themes; the ‘Primo’ and ‘Secondo’ columns are the treble clef and bass clef piano parts of the duets. The third column, ‘Additional Information’, lists Hindemith's alterations, omissions, and additions to the original piano parts. The bar numbers of each of Hindemith's movements will be listed with the ‘Section’ letters. The section letters used in the analysis are separate from rehearsal letters found in any orchestral score of the work.

Movement One: Allegro (Huit Pièces pour le Piano forte à 4 mains Op. 60 No. 4)
Form

The basic form for both the Weber piano duet and Hindemith setting is ABCDEFA1B1, but Hindemith places repeats at different points. Weber's first repeated section encompasses bars 13–30, where Hindemith's are 4–13.
Bars

Hindemith does not greatly alter the number of bars contained in each section (Table 1). It should be noted that Brennecke lists the A section at 22 bars; however, the three-bar introduction and the first and second ending extend the section to 26 bars (Table 1). In part E, he lists the section at 26 bars with a three-bar transition. This section also contains a first and second ending which Brennecke does not include in his bar tabulations.

Bar numbers in each section of Movement 1

A B C D E F A1 B1 Total
Weber 24 6 12 12 28 41 12 27 162
Hindemith 26 6 10 10 30 41 16 29 168
Meter

Weber's duet was composed in 2/4 time and Hindemith does not alter this except for bar 123, which is in 6/8 time.
Tempo

The Weber is marked Allegro, tutto ben marcato, and Hindemith specifies <quarter note> = 108.
Thematic Transformation and Orchestration

Thematic Transformation of Movement 1

Section Primo (treble) Secondo (bass) Additional Infomation
A (1–26) 1st violins play melody. In bar 7, the melodic line ascends with oboe, trumpets, and 2nd violins. Before the phrase ends, upper woodwinds join violins to play 16th notes. 1st violins continue the second phrase at 15 and give the melody to woodwinds. The motif in 15 is passed around four bars until clarinets and piccolo take over the right-hand ascending line. Bassoons end the phrase starting in 23 and flutes play leaps in 25–6. Violas and cellos play left-hand notes except in opposite order of Weber's part. Clarinets have after-beats from the right hand and horns play a motif from the 1st Violin melody. At bar 19, violins play syncopated parts from the right hand while cello and basses establish the rhythmic foundation from the left hand. Grace notes in the Primo part are removed. Trills are inserted and articulations altered. Motifs from the melody and countermelody are distributed throughout the section, as seen by the horns starting in bar 1. At the first and second endings, descending glissandos are inserted in the violin, viola, and cello parts. Near the end of A, 16th-note scalar passages, based on the countermelody, are added at 19 by clarinets, piccolo, and 1st flute, then by 1st oboe at 23 signaling a transition to B.
B (27–32) Both hands share melody, and a similar accompaniment, for the first two bars at B. The melody is played by violins and the left-hand accompaniment is played by clarinets, horns, bassoons, timpani, and cellos. At 29, violins and violas play the descending line and trill into C. After two bars of melody, bassoons play a similar version with cellos and basses. The half note held in bar 31 (seen in both piano parts) is played by bassoons, 2nd and 4th horns, and upper strings. Trills in the flute, piccolo, and oboe parts outline tonality (A minor) and are new to Weber's duet. Descending thirds in horn parts at bar 27 are new, as well as 16th-note ascending scales in the upper woodwinds.
C (33–42) Flutes, oboes, English horn, 2nd clarinet, and bass clarinet play a harmonized version of the melody. At 39, the end of the phrase becomes an ascending, syncopated transition into D. In bars 41–2 winds play unison rhythms. 16th-note scalar passages are played by violas and cellos with basses being added four bars before D. The shape of the phrase is dissimilar to Weber's starting five bars after C at 37. Piccolo and 1st clarinet trill for the first four bars and horns have chord tones. The horns play a similar melodic line to the Primo part at 39, but their line descends.
D (43–52) Roles reverse at D and the Primo part has16th-note scalar passages played by upper woodwinds. The overall shape of the line is like Weber's, but Hindemith alters harmonic progression through varied intervals. Tutti orchestra plays the phrase-ending rhythm before E. High strings provide the right-hand melody. Weber has ascending quarter notes marked marcato; Hindemith provides a syncopated line from section C. Downbeats are emphasized by low woodwinds, horns, and strings playing offbeat pickups into bars 45 and 47. Horns hold chord tones throughout. The left-hand Secondo part, seen in D, is not added.
E (53–82) The four-bar melody is played by horns and trumpets. Strings play bars 57–78 and are joined by woodwinds and horns. Weber's descending lines are inverted until bar 61. At 63, strings play material similar to Weber's. Upper woodwinds answer 16th notes played by strings while providing pickups into downbeats. At 68, horns and trumpets trade Weber's figures. Upper strings frame 16th notes and brass have 8th notes. In bars 72–3, strings and horns play melodic lines. After 74 the orchestra trades motifs from the Primo part. The first four bars (53–6) strings play 16th-note rhythms and brass play Secondo parts. In bar 59 Hindemith alters 8th note rhythms into dotted rhythms for brass. Horns have intervallic piano parts, but with 16th rests after each pair. Weber's 8th notes are altered starting in bar 65 by having high woodwinds play syncopated rhythms to be answered by brass and percussion on the last after-beat of the bar. Both piano parts have a trilled half note played by oboe, English horn, bass clarinet, trumpets, timpani, violins, and violas. Tutti orchestra plays the pattern at 74, the rest of the movement features motifs from the Primo part. 1st violins have soli unrelated to the texture at bars 61–2, except it borrows previous motifs and rhythms. Low brass and tambourine have motifs mirroring the Secondo part starting in bar 65. At 66, upper woodwinds play on the after-beats and include 32nd-note scalar passages. At 75, 16th-note scalar passages occur in the piccolo, flutes, and clarinets–during which bassoons, 3rd trombone, tuba, and low strings sustain pitches. A three-bar transition is added before F– borrowing motifs from E played by 1st violins and violas.
F (83–123) The F melody begins with oboe after a transition signaled by triangle. Triplets and counter motifs are added to upper woodwind parts. At bar 96, clarinets take 16th note triplets and transition into a restatement of the F theme played by glockenspiel with flutes and clarinets. Left-hand melody is played by the oboe at 107, then passed to piccolo and English horn. The last two motifs in the Primo part before A1 are played by upper winds. Violas play pedal tones starting in bar 83. 8th-note chords from the right hand have been broken up and given to violins. At 91 cellos enter and basses play on downbeats. All strings and timpani play 8th notes until the end of the section, with added bassoon. Contrabassoons play left-hand half notes. Before A1, the left hand has the melody in the bass, which is given to bassoons and contrabassoons. Melodic lines are embellished, but do not venture from the form. Glissandos are added to upper woodwinds and the use of trills and grace notes is altered. This is the only section with a meter change; bar 123 is in 6/8 time–which is in the last bar before A1.
A1 (124–139) The introduction is shortened, compared to the first A section, to half a bar before flutes, clarinets, and violas enter with the melody. The melody is repeated by the upper woodwinds, which Weber omits from the Primo part. 2nd and 4th horns, trombones, tuba, and bass drum play a combination of 8th notes on and off the beat until 132, when percussion has sustained 8th notes. The bar before B1 reflects Weber's music in that low brass and woodwinds play repeated chords. In bar 132, upper woodwinds have melody and 2nd trombone, 3rd trombone, tuba, and percussion have the Secondo part. Trumpets and 1st trombone alternate an E section motif with the first three horn parts. 4th horn joins percussion in playing 8th notes in disjunctive intervals.
B1 (140–168) Violins play an altered melody. Violas play a descending line (a variation on the A theme). With pickups into 145, upper woodwinds share parts of the theme. High woodwinds play the whole theme leading to the final nine bars of the movement. After-beats from the first A section are now in B1 with cello and viola parts starting at 140. In bar 147 brass and timpani play notes like the left-hand Secondo part. They crescendo into chords until all brass and percussion play 8th notes, peppered with 16th notes. 16th-note groupings are present. Hindemith adds an ascending swell of 16th notes into the strings starting with 1st violins at bar 147, as in the previous C and D sections. New here are the sustained chord tones starting in 147 held by 2nd clarinet, 2nd oboe, English horn, and a drum roll. Sustained notes are given to low woodwinds and strings as pedal tones over which both Primo and Secondo parts are played.
Harmony

In the Weber duet the entire piece is in A minor, except for the modulation to C major in Sections E and F, which switches to A major before reverting to A minor in A1. Hindemith does not provide key signatures; however, the piece clearly begins in A minor and modulates briefly to C major in E. Section F is in A major, as well. Hindemith ends the movement on an A major chord, where Weber's last chord is A minor.
Movement Two: Turandot, Scherzo (Overture to Turandot)
Background

The quasi-pentatonic melody used in the Turandot, Scherzo and Weber's Overture to Turandot has an extensive background and was originally completely pentatonic. In the years 1804–05 Weber composed an Overtura Chinesa. The original manuscript is assumed to be lost, but in 1809 Weber rearranged the piece to create incidental music for Friedrich Schiller's Turandot. In the autograph Weber explains that an original Chinese theme, from J.J. Rousseau's Dictionaire de Music, was utilized. Friderich Wilhelm Jähns, Weber's cataloger, discovered that the theme was listed as ‘Air Chinois’ in Rousseau's dictionary. However, Paul Listl, who authored Weber als Ouvertürenkomponist, concluded the melody was either not a real Chinese pentatonic theme, or Rousseau transcribed it incorrectly, as F-naturals are found in bar 3. This discrepancy was resolved by music historian, Clemens von Gleich, who discovered the original melody in a 1735 Jean Baptiste Du Halde work entitled Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique, et physique de l’empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie Chinoise. Du Halde's version contained a dotted rhythm and skipped the f (Music example 1). The discovery led Gleich to believe that Rousseau likely changed the rhythm to ‘modernize’ it.

Brennecke, ‘Die Metamorphosen-Werke…’, pp. 281–282.

Both Weber (Music example 2) and Hindemith (Music example 3) utilize the Rousseau version.

Music Example 1

Rousseau's and Du Halde's versions of the melody

Music Example 2

Weber's treatment of the melody

Music Example 3

Hindemith's treatment of the melody
Form and Meter

Weber's overture is split into eight sections (Table 3), which are further divided into subsections based on divisions of the theme. Weber's ABB1 theme (Music example 2) is 13 bars long and is broken down as such: A = 4 bars, B = 5.5 bars, and B1 = 3.5 bars. Hindemith expands the theme to 17 bars by repeating the A section (AABB1). Hindemith's movement (Table 4) is split into five sections, whereby each is expanded with new thematic material. Looking at overall structure, the Weber overture and the Hindemith movement are the most dissimilar in comparison to the other transformations.

Weber's Turandot

Section Subsection Bars and Material Total
1 A B B1 18 (four-bar intro; bar 18 is empty) 1–18
2 A B B1 13 19–31
3 A B B1 13 32–44
4 Free 11 (unrelated material) 45–55
5 A B B1 18 (five-bar extension of the melody) 56–73
6 A B B1 13 74–86
7 A A B B B1 22 (there is a half-bar reduction of the melody between the first and second B sections) 87–108
8 A B B1 28 (four-bar drum break, 13-bar theme plus six-bar extension and five-bar ending) 109–136

Music Example 4

Syncopated jazz-like Turandot theme

Hindemith's Turandot

Section Material Bars Total
Introduction 17-bar theme (based on the ancient Chinese air) is stated, interrupted by four bars with fermatas played by chimes and strings, including harmonics. Hindemith augments the first four notes in the air with chimes during the four pauses that frame the melody. 21 1–21
First Thematic Section After a six-bar percussion break, the theme is stated seven times in theme-and-variation style with each restatement building in intensity, and orchestration. Triplet figures are played by strings. 125 22–146
Middle Section Starting in bar 160, a transition occurs containing a syncopated, jazz-like subject (cf. music example 4) based on the original air. The melody is fragmented and developed until the start of the ‘second thematic section’. 87 147–233
Second Thematic Section 17-bar theme from the introduction is fragmented by percussion serving as a transition to bar 246 when a four-bar version of the air is introduced and utilized in seven variations. 40 234–273
Ending The melody is fragmented, and augmented by brass, in a transition until the coda at bar 280, where percussion is featured until the end of the movement. The timpani play a version of the ancient Chinese air. 31 274–304
Meter

The Weber overture is in common time. Hindemith's movement starts in common time and switches to 2/2 at the beginning of the ‘first thematic section’ (Table 4), which is the primary meter for the rest of the movement. In the ‘second thematic section’, after the percussion interlude, Hindemith sets a pattern of having a 3/2 bar occur every four bars starting in bar 249. The pattern continues until the ‘ending’, where Hindemith reduces the pattern to having a 3/2 bar every three bars. Starting with bar 282 Hindemith has the 2/2 and 3/2 against 3/4 off and on for six bars. The percussion maintains the steady 2/2, whereas the rest of the orchestra temporarily switches meter at the same time. The last seventeen bars are in 2/2.
Tempo

The movement is marked Allegro Moderato. Weber does not specify a tempo marking, nor does the tempo change. Hindemith's introduction is labeled Moderato, <quarter note> = 132, and that switches to ‘Lebhaft’, <half note> = 96, at the start of the first thematic section (Table 4). The only two times Hindemith varies the tempi are the moments where ‘tenuto’ is followed by ‘a tempo’.
Harmony

Weber's overture is labeled as G major and Hindemith's movement is grounded in F, using a mixture of the Mixolydian and Locrian modes, and D in what Anderson (1996) calls an ‘antithetical tonic’. When a D major chord occurs at bar 147, signaling the transition to the fugato section and breakaway from Weber's forms, it is the middle of the ‘Turandot Scherzo’, strictly observing Hindemith's tempo markings

G. Anderson, ‘The Triumph of Timelessness over Time in Hindemith's “Turandot Scherzo” from Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber’, College Music Society, No. 36, 1996. Anderson points out that Fibonacci sequences, or ‘Golden Sections’, are used from bar 147 to the end; Hindemith places significant structural changes (Table 4) on these ratios (5–8). Whether these proportions were intentional, or a product of Hindemith's 1940's ‘balanced cooperation’ and symmetrical emphasis, as David Neumeyer explains in his study ‘Tonal, Formal, and Proportional Design in Hindemith's Music’, Music Theory Spectrum, No. 9, Spring 1978, pp. 93–116, is subject to conjecture.

. The fugato is largely in F minor, having several A-flats, as compared to A-naturals in the first and second thematic sections. The final chord in bar 304 is an F major triad.
Movement Three: Andantino (Six Pièces pour le Pianoforte à quatre mains Op. 10 No. 2)
Form

The form of both the Weber duet and Hindemith movement is ABA (Table 5) with little variance in structure. Weber's overture can be characterized as AA1BB1AA1 with an extra bar at the end of the piece. Hindemith includes a first and second ending at the end of the A section and does not repeat the first A1 section. Hindemith writes out the repeat of the B section and extends B1 by three bars, using material from B, but he does not repeat it. The repeat of the A sections, and the additional bar, are exactly like the form of the piano duet.
Bars

Movement Three Forms

A A1 B B1 A A1
Weber 8: :8: :4: :4: 8 9
Hindemith 9: 8 8 7 8 9
Meter

Weber's duet is entirely 6/8, and so is Hindemith's movement except for three instances of 9/8 totaling four bars out of 49.
Tempo

The Weber duet is marked Andantino con Moto, and Hindemith indicates ♪ = 126–132.
Thematic Transformation

Movement Three Thematic Transformation

Section Primo (treble) Secondo (bass) Additional Information
A (1–9) 1st clarinet plays right-hand solo in the first four bars. Accompaniment in bars 5–8 is played by 1st clarinet, violas, 2nd violins, and a combination of instruments in the final bar before the repeat. Accompaniment in the first four bars is played by strings. The solo in bars 5–8 is taken over by 1st bassoon. Pickup notes are added to 1st clarinet on the repeat, where Weber had two empty 8th rests. In the second ending, pickup notes are played by 1st horn. 16th-note chromatic figures are added to 2nd flute and clarinet.
A1 (10–7) The motif seen in the first two bars is played by violins. The right-hand solo is played by the clarinet, and the melody is passed to 1st horn. The second half is covered by strings and 1st horn at bar 16, during which the texture thickens until B. The horn begins the two-bar solo, except the grace note is turned into a pickup. The melody starting at 12 is played by 1st violins and flutes. Motifs in the last four bars are played by woodwinds, horns, and 2nd violins. The phrase acts as a transition into B. Left-hand chords are played by woodwinds, trombones, timpani, and string bass. Hindemith embellishes on rhythms and broadens accompaniment. Rests are added except for a cello pickup note. Again, where Weber has rests, Hindemith gives bass clarinet and flutes pickup notes.
B (18–25) 16th notes played in the left hand are given to violas and later 2nd violins and cellos. Hindemith's treatments are linear and do not outline harmonies compared to Weber's ‘Alberti bass’ writing. The melody is played by clarinets, bass clarinet, and cello. When this material is played again at bar 22, 1st violins take over with violas and oboes. Notes played on the beat in the left hand Secondo part are removed. Tones are sustained by flutes, horns, bassoons, contrabassoons, tuba, and string bass. At the ends of each phrase the melody is embellished, removing Weber's melodic fragments and chords.
B1 (26–32) Woodwinds, except for bassoons and contrabassoons, play16th notes in a linear fashion. The 16th notes are passed to upper strings at bar 29. Dotted right-hand rhythms are altered, except for traces in the strings. The return of the B theme is found in the 2nd flute, English horn, 1st clarinet, horns, and cellos. Octaves played in the left hand are mirrored by trombones. Hindemith alters material from B to begin the first three bars. He also has nearly the same embellishments at the end of this section as in B. New here are sustained notes played by low woodwinds, tuba, bass drum, and string bass.
A (33–40) These sections are nearly identical to the beginning A and A1. 1st flute solos over the melody until the end of the movement. English horn has 16th-note counter-motifs played by flutes in the first A section.
A1 (41–9) The sections are orchestrated more densely, and Hindemith adds an extra bar, like Weber.
Harmony

Hindemith transposes Weber's piece from C minor to B-flat minor, each B section being in the respective keys of C major and B-flat major.
Movement Four: March (Huit Pièces pour le Piano forte à 4 mains Op. 60 No. 7)

An analysis of Keith Wilson's 1945 band transcription of the March was completed by Gene Anderson (1994). Anderson's analysis was similar to Brennecke's, except that he included dynamics, predominant key areas, and divided the sections by motifs. The following form diagrams are more akin to Anderson's report in terms of sectioning. He also refers to the final ‘march’ section as a ‘coda’

G. Anderson, ‘Analysis: Musical Metamorphoses in Hindemith's “March” from Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber’, Journal of Band Research, No. 30/1, 1996, p. 3.

.
Form

The original form of the piece is modified ternary, which Hindemith expanded into five sections: March, Trio, March, Trio, and March.

Forms of Movement 4

March Trio March Trio March
Weber : A: : BA1: : C: : C1 C2: ABA1 - -
Hindemith : A: BA1 CC : C1 C2: A CC1 C2 A (coda)
Bars

Hindemith expands the introductory four bars to five in the initial ‘March’ section, but later in A1 reverts to the four-bar introductory fanfare. After the first ‘Trio’ the introductory fanfare is expanded to six bars in the second ‘March’ section. These introductions are included in the bar count but indicated in parentheses in Table 8. The sections that have multiple sets of thematic material are shown divided by a slash.

Bars of Movement 4

March Trio March Trio March Total
Weber 26 (4-bar intro) 14/18 10 6/9 Da capo to first March - - 83
Hindemith 26 (5-bar intro) 7/17 9/8 6/8 29 (6-bar intro) 8/6/4 16 144
Meter

In Weber's duet the meter is entirely 2/4; however, Hindemith changes this to 2/2 and adds three 3/2 bars in the introductory fanfares of the first two ‘March’ sections–one 3/2 bar in the first fanfare and the last two 3/2 bars in the second fanfare.
Tempo

Weber's original ‘Marcia’ was labeled Maestoso. After its composition in 1819, the piece was regarded as a funeral march

Brennecke, ‘Die Metamorphosen-Werke…’, p. 280. This was an assumption by Moscheles, since the original Weber manuscript is lost.

. Composer Ignaz Moscheles’ recommended performance of the duet is ♪ = 84, and Jähns suggested ♪ = 100. Hindemith almost doubled the tempo to <half note> = 80

Brennecke, ‘Die Metamorphosen-Werke…’, p. 280.

.
Thematic Transformation and Orchestration

Thematic Transformation of Movement Four

Section Primo (treble) Secondo (bass) Additional Info.
March (1–50) Intro. & A (1–26) The introductory fanfare is played by trumpets and trombones. The A theme is played by woodwinds and trumpets support the theme at 14. Accompaniment to the A theme is the rhythmic march played by strings and drum. Trumpets, trombones, and timpani play a fanfare before the repeat. Triangle and suspended cymbal are added with muted horn chords.
BA1 (27–33/34–50) Upper woodwinds play a modified theme from B with timpani. Before A1, the fanfare comes back with trumpets and trombones. Strings play the A theme at A1. In Weber's duet, each part plays motifs from the B section and timpani and lower woodwinds provide the rhythmic framework, much like the Secondo piano part. During A1, woodwinds play the rhythmic Secondo part. Horns play triplet figures starting at 32, well before the trio. Triplets dominate as the movement progresses starting with section C. Weber uses a bombastic transition to the ‘trio’ where Hindemith's transition is subdued and signals a modulation from minor to major.
Trio (51–81) CC (51–59/60–67) Woodwinds play triplet figures with ascending and descending lines used as countermelodies. When section C repeats, lower bassoon parts are added. For the first playing of C, horns have a harmonized melody. 3rd trombone has a countermelody starting with pickup notes into bar 56 and the second time into 64. Weber uses quarter notes to signify tonality on downbeats and Hindemith changes these to dotted rhythms in the repetition of C for trumpets, 2nd trombone, and tuba. Pizzicato notes start in bar 60 in the lower strings to outline tonality. Triangle and timpani play on beats two and four, respectively.
C1 C2 (68–73/74–81) High woodwinds play a harmonized version of Primo. Low woodwinds have a descending line into C2, reminiscent of Weber's transition to C2. Brass play linear triplets. Upper woodwinds have descending triplets. Brass finish the melody four before the repeat, strings have triplets in an ascending countermelody. In C1 strings play triplet figures from the Secondo piano part. At C2 violins, violas, and cellos have the Secondo theme, similar material to the Primo theme from C1. Brass have the C theme, four bars before the repeat, playing unison rhythms. Low woodwinds have dotted rhythms from C motifs, in the position where pickup notes have earlier occurred, starting after bar 74. This is juxtaposed against the C melody in the strings, but in the middle of the bar unlike before. Hindemith adds a crescendo drum roll to ascending brass and string lines, four bars before the repeat.
March (82–110) A The original four-bar introduction is now six bars after the repeat, played by woodwinds. Trombones play the A theme, now in A minor, in octaves at first. The trombone theme is augmented and altered in a transition, starting in bar 103, to the second ‘trio’. Material used in Weber's Secondo part is omitted in this transition into the ‘March’ (A section). During the return of A, strings play march rhythms from the Secondo part. Timpani has dotted rhythms on 3/2 bars. Low strings play a descending, hemiola line into the ‘March’ (A section). Slurred triplets are added in the clarinets, not present in either Weber part along with repetitive drum rhythms. Triplet woodwind parts transition into the second ‘trio’. A dramatic rest occurs before the ‘trio’.
Trio (111–128) CC1 C2 (111–118/119–124/125–128) Triplet woodwind figures at C are linear and chordal. Ascending and descending triplets are played by upper strings outlining I, IV, V harmony. In C1 trumpets and trombones combine to provide melody. C2 is like C from this trio, in that woodwinds and strings also again have triplets. Brass play the theme from section C now in E-flat major with timpani and low strings reinforcing dotted rhythms. In C1 upper strings and drum provide triplets from the Secondo part. They are fragmented and alternate between 1st violin and viola, with 2nd violins echoing drum rhythms. Horns play the C2 theme with the same rhythm as the triangle. Crash cymbal starts trio. In C1, 1st and 3rd horns play an almost chromatic ascending line and 2nd and 4th have a dotted rhythm precluding the same rhythm seen in trumpet and trombone parts. In C2 the bass and contrabassoon hold a pedal B-flat indicating the arrival of that key for closing moments. Trumpets and trombones provide a countermelody with dotted rhythms.
March (Coda) A (129–144) At bar 128, melody is halted for a transition into the march fanfare, which is alternated from horns to trumpets for four bars (132–5). Only the first two bars of the fanfare, a descending motif, are utilized and the original march theme gives way to a climatic closing. Trombones play a version of the fanfare without the dotted rhythm. Dotted rhythms from the Secondo part are not included in this coda. Horns play the fanfare. Woodwinds have triplets, each alternating between half steps. Strings play ascending scales outlining A major, during which contrabassoons, tuba, and basses play D whole notes. Percussion plays sustained rolls and trumpets have melody. For the first time in the movement, repetitive syncopation bars (136–9) are in the horns, trumpets, and strings.
Harmony

In general, Hindemith changes the original key of G minor to B-flat minor; the trio sections of each work are in G and B-flat major, respectively. The coda is in B-flat major. Desbruslais describes that as part of his ‘Unterweisung’ style. Hindemith oftentimes veers from Weber's original tonic, subdominant, and dominant relationships to provide harmonic uncertainty

Desbruslais, The Music and Music Theory…, 59–65. Unterweisung im Tonsatz or The Craft of Musical Composition is a three-part series dedicated to theory and part writing, to which Desbruslais here refers. As part of his compositional method, Hindemith often uses the interval of the fourth and quartal relationships in motifs, melodic lines, and chords to achieve harmonic uncertainty.

. Such a deviation can be observed in the fanfare sections marked A or A1 (Table 7) where Weber uses G minor, C minor, and D major chords in the piano parts and Hindemith switches to unison writing and quartal tetrachords.
CONCLUSION

As mentioned in the introduction, Hindemith transformed what he considered inconsequential melodies into vastly altered orchestral pieces. Each movement is an autonomous work unto itself, bound only by the title and the abandonment of the ‘All’ Ongarses’

G. Schubert, ‘Hindemiths Orchesterwerk’, in Paul Hindemith-Komponist zwischen Tradition und Avantgarde, Norbert Bolín (ed.), Mainz, Schott Musik International, 1999. This sentiment was shared by Schubert in that the fourth movement, the March, was based on a supposed ‘Trauermarsch’, but Hindemith turned it into a lively affair, complete with an original coda seen in Table 8 (62).

style, fashionable during Weber's career, for the sake of the ‘Hindemith Sound’

Desbruslais, The Music and Music Theory…, p. 61.

. Of the four movements, the most profound metamorphosis is observed in the second, Turandot movement (Tables 3 and 4) where Hindemith expands the original 136-bar duet to an expansive 304-bar piece with thematic variation and a jazz-like fugato based on Golden Sections. The other three movements were more closely aligned to their original counterparts, but only in form, tempo, and melodic content. Deviations from the Weber in those movements are observed in harmonic content and the use of orchestration with myriad tone colors. Additional material is found in the form of countermelodies, scalar passages, tetrachords, and rhythmic motifs, thereby allowing Hindemith to infuse his ‘Unterweisung’ style.

From the above-presented analysis of how each of the duet parts and the Turandot overture became components of orchestral texture, it becomes apparent that, although not all of Weber's music underwent a complete metamorphosis, the reworks were undoubtedly in Hindemith's style and exhibited an amount of creativity rivaling his other symphonic works of the period. From the study of the alterations he chose for each movement, as highlighted in the ‘Additional Information’ columns, it is clear that Hindemith's metamorphoses range from ornamental to significant structural changes in rhythmic and harmonic progression. In other words, the amount of divergence from the Weber frameworks varied, but Hindemith did not treat any of his orchestrations as exact transcriptions. Instead, he purposely altered all of his treatments to a degree in which his compositional style was omnipresent and every section exhibited change. While largely staying within Weber's original frameworks, Hindemith provides highly imaginative reworks utilizing an array of textures that cannot merely be labeled as perfunctory orchestrations.
eISSN:
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ISSN:
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Language:
English
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Music, general
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