UMD Wind Orchestra Plays Hindemith

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Paul Hindemith’s first work composed for wind band, Konzertmusik für Blasorchester, with the UMD Wind Orchestra!

Paul Hindemith is among the most significant German composers of his generation. A proponent for New Objectivity, a style that advocated for public collaboration, engagement and rejection of romantic idealism, Hindemith believed that wind music had been unfairly regarded, and, as a result, premiered Konzertmusik für Blasorchester at the 1926 Donaueschingen Festival. Despite being written “for amateurs,” the piece is complex, drawing on influences from German folk songs and military marches, all with Hindemith’s signature creative melodies and rhythmic energy.

This program will also include Hindemith’s Kammermusik No. 1, his first composition in a set of eight chamber music pieces written during the 1920s, as well as Florent Schmitt’s Dionysiaques, a bombastic piece that evokes the ancient Greek festivals honoring the god of wine and dance.