Hindemith: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd (A Requiem for Those We Love)
Whitman's poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" was his elegy on the death of Abraham Lincoln. Hindemith's setting, subtitled "A Requiem for Those We Love," dates from 1946. It was conceived as a tribute to FDR and the Americans who fought and died in World War II and perhaps also as a lament for the destruction of German culture. The composer himself--whose music was banned by Hitler's regime thus forcing his emigration from Germany--had both public and private reasons for writing this piece, and the result is extremely moving and approachable. It's a true modern counterpart to Brahms'sGerman Requiem. Robert Shaw commissioned the music and simply "owns" it. This is a definitive performance.--David Hurwitz