Ro­man­ti­cs bey­ond ti­me

Sometimes it's a strange thing about stylistic epochs: some works come too late, some too early, others seemingly at the wrong time. Who would expect a "dance legend" about the life of St. Francis of Assisi from Hindemith in 1938? Not only the fascination for holy hermits is actually "romantic". Musically, too, Hindemith is no longer the neo-objective bourgeois fright he was known as in the roaring 1920s.

The three-piece orchestral suite of the ballet, while still showing Hindemith's penchant for counterpoint (particularly in the great Passacaglia), is all bathed in masterful, mellow tone. And who would have thought that one of the most beautiful viola concertos was from 1979? It was composed by Miklós Rózsa, otherwise known as a film composer ("Ben Hur" and others). Dark colors and great skill also prevail here. In this light, romantic (minor) colors can even be heard in Haydn's E flat major symphony. On the other hand, the conductor Ruth Reinhardt and the violist Timothy Ridout, two artistic strokes of luck of the young generation, come at exactly the right time.

Paul Hindemith - "Nobilissima Visione" Suite for Orchestra
Miklós Rósza - Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 37
Joseph Haydn - Symphony No. 84 in E flat major, Hob I:84