Marking Time Musically

Abstract In 1960 Paul Hindemith composed music for a one-act opera libretto adapted by Thornton Wilder from his 1931 play The Long Christmas Dinner. In German translation, it premiered, conducted by Hindemith, in Mannheim, West Germany, in December 1961. Hindemith also led the English-language premiere at the Juilliard School in 1963, the year of his death. This article argues that late in his career as composer and conductor, Hindemith remained preoccupied with the “ethical purposes” of the opera industry and the artist’s social role. It discusses Hindemith’s use of formal and rhythmic innovations of his “late style” to highlight themes of intergenerational continuities and duality of perspective at the center of Wilder’s play and libretto. The article was originally published on the website of the American Symphony Orchestra in 2014 and in a somewhat shorter form in the program for the American Symphony Orchestra performance of the opera on 19 December 2014 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York. It is reprinted courtesy of the American Symphony Orchestra and by permission of Joel Haney.