Hindemith’s seven Kammermusik pieces don’t seem to last long in the catalog (at least here in the U.S. where titles get deleted unless they go platinum within minutes of initial release), and with Riccardo Chailly (Decca) and Ensemble Modern (RCA) currently out of print, there isn’t much alternative choice in complete sets. The appearance of this second volume of Claudio Abbado’s traversal of all seven pieces is compromised by the fact that the first disc is already unavailable, which speaks volumes for EMI’s confidence in its artists and repertoire (and raises the issue of why they bothered making the records in the first place). The performances are very good, as one might expect from these forces, with Wolfram Christ’s husky viola d’amore and Wayne Marshall’s ebullient organ playing coming in for special praise. Fortunately, most of these works are also available in CPO’s excellent ongoing series devoted to Hindemith’s complete orchestral works and concertos, so when this album disappears collectors won’t be completely at sea. Of course, both discs probably will reappear soon at reduced price as a “twofer” compilation or some such, at least for another 10 minutes or so. Sometimes, it’s really hard not to be completely cynical when faced with such nonsense. If you have volume one, get this while you can. If you don’t, then look to CPO where you’ll discover much other good music besides. It just feels wrong for me to encourage you to rush to the store in order to reward a company that cares so little about its own product.
