Paul Hindemith - Symphonic Metamorphosis (1943)

Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895 – 28 December 1963) was a prolific German composer, violist, violinist, teacher and conductor. Notable compositions include his song cycle Das Marienleben (1923), Der Schwanendreher for viola and orchestra (1935), and opera Mathis der Maler (1938). Hindemith's most popular work, both on record and in the concert hall, is likely the Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, written in 1943.

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Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes (1943)

1. Allegro
2. Scherzo (Turandot): Moderato – Lively
3. Andantino
4. Marsch

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Herbert Blomstedt

The Weber themes are taken from incidental music which Weber wrote for a play by Carlo Gozzi, based on the same Turandot legend, that later inspired Giacomo Puccini and others. Hindemith and his wife would play Weber's music for piano four-hands, and Hindemith used some of these little-known pieces—Op. 60/4 (no. 253 in the Jähns catalog of Weber's works) (first movement), Op. 37 (J. 75) (second movement), Op. 10/2 (J. 82) (third movement), and Op. 60/7 (J. 265) (fourth movement) for the themes of the other movements. Weber's piano duets were written around 1802–03, 1809, and 1818–19, his Turandot music in 1809 (Tusa 2001).

The work was first performed on January 20, 1944, in New York City, with Artur Rodziński conducting the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra.