Soon after the Nazis came to power in Germany, Paul Hindemith found most of his music banned, branded as cultural bolshevism. He felt compelled to address the fundamental question of the artist's responsibility towards society during times of political upheaval, choosing allegory as his means.
In his opera, Mathis der Maler, Hindemith used as his central figure the 16th-century painter Mathias Grünberg, who aligned himself with the peasants' revolt against serfdom, but ultimately returned to painting, realising that his greatest obligation was to be true to his art.
Tadaaki Otaka's performance of Hindemith's symphony (based on the same theme as the opera) with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales was strong and articulate: the first movement with its sonorous wind choirs inaugurating the angelic concert, the tautly conceived central section depicting the entombment, and the searing drama of the final movement, the temptation of St Anthony, where the artist sees he cannot betray his God-given gift.
Yet there was also something faintly surreal hearing this work in the setting of the Brangwyn Hall, surrounded by Frank Brangwyn's massive murals glorifying the British empire. Just as thought-provoking was the symphony being preceded in the programme by Wagner's prelude to Die Meistersinger; its wonderful resonance carrying the sobering reminder of Wagner's approbation by the Nazis.
In the second half, it seemed the prime concern of Otaka and soloist Freddy Kempf was to underline the moral strength of Brahms's Second Piano Concerto. Certainly, there could be no doubting their integrity of purpose in an interpretation that was both weighty and emotional. Bringing expressive sensibilities reinforced perhaps by his experience in chamber music, Kempf embraced the lyrical exuberance as well as Brahms's intellectual rigour. It was a performance that suggested that, for young Kempf, the age of innocence is a thing of the past.
Corrections and clarifications
In this review, we said that in the opera by Hindemith, Mathis der Maler, was based on Matthias Grünberg. We should have said Matthias Grünewald.
