Playing With Tradition:The Stylistic Complexity In Hindemith's Flute Sonata (1936)

Neo-classicism is an important current in the 20^th-century music.Paul Hindemith,one of the most significant composers of this trend,wrote the Flute Sonata in 1936,in a period while he was also working on his harmony treatise.Therefore,this piece can be regarded as a representative example of his compositional style solely based on his harmonic theory.My thesis concentrates on the issue how Hindemith's Flute Sonata recaptures the essence of the Neoclassicism.I will explore Hindemith's writing style by analyzing the formal structure,the use of the“center tone”technique,and the motivic repetition.I have chosen three different interpretations performed by representative flutists,comparing and studying them in terms of tempo,breathing,dynamics and sound control.This performance analysis provides the reader with a clearer guidance on how to appreciate Hindemith's Flute Sonata based on the style of the Neoclassicism.