#Hindeminth ludus tonalis series
#Hindeminth ludus tonalis free

While for previous works, it is questionable whether Hindemith's theorising, or his composing, came first with the Ludus it is absolutely clear. The work is a unique example in the history of Western Music of the relationship between music theory and compositional practice. Ludus Tonalis can be thought of as the most direct application of Hindemiths theory that the twelve tones of the equally tempered scale all relate to a. It marked a watershed moment in Hindemith's life – the closing of his troubled chapter in Germany in the mid- to late 1930s, and the widespread acceptance of the refined compositional style in the Ludus, brought about by his intensive theoretical activity. The Ludus was completed two years after Hindemith's appointment at the Yale School of Music, and four years before he received American citizenship. Hindemith invites us to analyse his piano cycle with his theory in mind.

#Hindeminth ludus tonalis free

It provides the strongest indication of how Hindemith's music theory might be transferred into free composition, and lends itself more suitably to a theoretical analysis than any of his other compositions. If Hindemith's early works show the composer at his most pluralistic, the Ludus presents the composer at his most cerebral.

#Hindeminth ludus tonalis series

Though Hindemith wrote many other compositions during this time, such as three organ sonatas (1937–1940), eleven instrumental sonatas and the ballet The Four Temperaments (1938), none have the explicit reference to music theory found in the Ludus: where all twelve of the starting pitches for the fugues correspond to the ordering of Series 1. It was written five years after the first published edition of the Unterweisung, and shared proximity with Unterweisung II (1939), the second edition of Unterweisung I (1940), Craft I (1942) and the preparatory work towards Unterweisung III. The Ludus Tonalis (‘Play of Tones’), written in 1942 and premiered by Willard MacGregor in 1943, is the quintessential model of Hindemith's music theory in practice. To corroborate further his theory of tonal organisation he composed the monumental ‘Ludus Tonalis’ for piano which has become one of his most famous works. Allthough most Wikipedia articles provide accurate information accuracy can not be guaranteed.As a member of his composition class I remember well how he used to discuss with his advanced pupils certain acoustical phenomena about which he was writing in his book, and their melodic and harmonic implications. ^ a b Liner Notes by Marc Vignal to 'Hindemith, 2nd Sonata & Ludus Tonalis' played by Sviatoslav Richter - Pyramid Records, Inc.In this system, the major–minor duality is meaningless and the practice of modulation is dropped. The affinity of each note with the keynote is directly related to its position on the harmonic scale. Ludus Tonalis can be thought of as the most direct application of Hindemith's theory that the twelve tones of the equally tempered scale all relate to a single one of them (called a tonic or keynote). Unlike Bach's piece, though, the non-fugal pieces in Ludus Tonalis frequently repeat the work's main theme, which makes listening to the work as a whole slightly less daunting to the novice. The hour-long piano cycle itself finds refuge from conflict in the reassertion of the time-honoured value of counterpoint, comprising twelve fugues and interludes framed by a prelude and its mirror image as a postlude. Ludus Tonalis was intended to be the twentieth-century equivalent to Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Hindemith wrote Ludus tonalis in 1942 while staying the US as a refugee from Nazi Germany. The tonalities of the fugues follow the order of his Serie 1 and use the keynote C (see The Craft of Musical Composition).

In between, there are twelve three-part fugues separated by eleven interludes, beginning in the tonality of the previous fugue and ending in the tonality of the next fugue (or in different tonality which is very close to that). The piece starts with a three-part Praeludium in C resembling Bach's toccatas, and ends with a Postludium which is an exact retrograde inversion of the Praeludium. Ludus Tonalis ('Play of Tones' or 'Tonal Game'), subtitled Kontrapunktische, tonal, und Klaviertechnische Übungen ( counterpoint, tonal and technical studies for the piano), is a piano work by Paul Hindemith that was composed in 1942 during his stay in the United States.