Plöner Musiktag

The first recording of Paul Hindemith's "Plöner Musiktag" is now released: This educational work has not been heard as a whole since its world premiere in 1932 by the composer himself. Initiated and edited by the conductor Jobst Liebrecht, the musical day was realized in Berlin on 13 October 2008 by the Hans Werner Henze Music School in Marzahn-Hellersdorf as well as the local youth symphony orchestra which were both supported by several children's choirs from Berlin.
Even the renowned baritone Dietrich Henschel and musicians of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra could be won over to this large project. The aim of this ambitious initiative is to bring young musicians and professionals together and approach the composer's ideas "playfully": "I hope, on the one hand, that this music is perceived as a highlight of Hindemith's educational oeuvre and among his complete works", says conductor Jobst Liebrecht. "On the other hand, I hope for the Hans Werner Henze Music School in Marzahn-Hellersdorf or, in general, for the educational policy in Berlin that people remember the roots and ideals with which the music school movement began, and that they move forward from the right sense of tradition."
The "Plöner Musiktag" sets a whole day to music: The four parts Morgenmusik [Morning Music], Tafelmusik [Table Music], Kantate [Cantata] and Abendkonzert [Evening Concert] have been written for different levels of difficulty and instrumentations – from recorder trio to orchestral piece and three-part choir. Hindemith wrote the work for a four-day stay in a boarding school in Plön, Schleswig-Holstein in June 1932 where he made music with pupils.