Aphorisms

6. “Nerviosität”, In einer Nacht... Träume und Erlebnisse Op. 15. Paul Hindemith (Germany, 1917-1919)

Even during wartime, Paul Hindemith’s most profound ambition was to compose music. He could not imagine himself as a soldier. Soon after his father died on the front line, however, he was drafted into military service. Luckily, thanks to the benevolence of his German commanders, Hindemith managed to procure duties that were chiefly musical. The same disillusionment he felt towards the war was widespread in Germany. Extreme discontentment and poverty fell upon the German people to the point of provoking the 1918 German Revolution that resulted in the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II. In his place, a new parliamentary republic with socialist leanings was installed. When Hindemith returned from war, his homeland had endured battles both beyond and within its borders—and was on the verge of civil war.