Film Night: Symphony Mathis der Maler and the Isenheim Altarpiece with John Philson

Mathis der Maler (Matthias the Painter) Symphony was written by German composer Paul Hindemith based on themes from his opera of the same name. Matthias Grünewald was the painter (together with sculptor Nikolaus Hagenauer) of the Isenheim Altarpiece, a polyptych which unfolds in successive configurations to reveal scenes of torment, suffering, and resurrection, intended as a source of consolation and redemption. Hindemith chose his music to echo three of the panels, and therein lies several stories - the original subject matter of the panels, the panel displays themselves, Hindemith's treatment (in both music and the opera itself), and the reaction of the Nazi authorities to music which they deemed degenerate. We will braid all of these together, anchored by a performance of the Symphony (standard repertoire nowadays) and an exploration of the Altarpiece.