Work of the Week - Hindemith: Theme with four Variations

Over the past weeks, Schott’s featured Work of the Week has included several dance and ballet highlights including Igor Strawinsky’s Scènes de Ballet, Tobias Picker’s Awakenings, and Benjamin Schweitzer’s nach Hause.  Now we conclude the series with Paul Hindemith’s classic Theme with four Variations (according to the four Temperaments) which will open at Duisburg Theatre on 14th October.  Pianist Paolo Alvares with the Duisburger Philharmoniker conducted by Christoph Altstaedt will performer Hindemith’s score whilst the dancers will perform the original 1946 choreography by George Balanchine with costumes inspired by Swiss-American surrealist artist Kurt Seligmann.

Originally Hindemith intended to write music for the Russian dancer and choreographer Léonide Massine but after several disagreements over conceptual issues the composer decided against the collaboration. Fortunately, an opportunity arose with legendary choreographer George Balanchine and a new work was completed for the American Ballet Company, the forerunner of the New York City Ballet.

The work is based on the ancient Greek understanding of the Four Temperaments, the idea that if one of the four known fluids of the body (blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegme) dominated, then one’s personally would develop one of the following characteristics:

• Sanguine - Too much blood and a person would be extroverted, cheerful and passionate.
• Choleric - Too much yellow bile and a person would be dominating, ambitious and energetic.
• Melancholic - Too much black bile and a person would be a thoughtful, considerate and a perfectionist
• Phlegmatic - Too much phlegm and a person would be observant, curious and sometimes shy.

 The four dispositions are presented in the music through four variations by solo piano and string orchestra whilst Hindemith expresses his ideas of the Four Temperaments with a lyrical moderato for strings, an energetic allegro for piano and orchestra and a gentle melancholic pastorale for solo violin.

Further performances will take place at the Duisburg Theatre on October 16, 23, 28, 30 and November 13. From the 3 December the production will be taken over by the partnering house in Düsseldorf with the Düsseldorfer Symphonikern.

• Paul Hindemith: Profile