Hindemith composed his Symphony in B flat major for Concert Band (1951) on a commission from the United States Army Band. Unlike European military bands, the U.S. Army Band included a large number of saxophones in its ranks. Hindemith took full advantage of this feature, investing his three-movement work with a jazzy sound that hearkened to the composer's years as an enfant terrible in the 1920s.

The opening movement ("Moderately fast, with vigor") juxtaposes two main theme groups, the first marked by a rather grim declamation in the cornets and trumpets against triplet woodwind rhythms, the second by a sinuous woodwind unison from which a brass chorale of similar character emerges. Hindemith connects the two groups with a quizzical theme in the oboe and accompanying woodwinds. This theme reappears to generate the climax of the fugal middle section, in which saxophones play a prominent role. The movement climaxes in a recapitulation of the chorale.

The dialogue between saxophone and cornet that opens the middle movement, Andantino grazioso, is Weill-esque, with a suggestion of banjo accompaniment in its dolorous give-and-take. The central episode ("Fast and gay") is pure Hindemith, however, in its scurrying triple-time counterpoint and clever imitative effects. At the end of this tripartite movement, Hindemith uses a favorite trick, interlocking the first and second sections to make a third.

An abrupt four-note ascending figure forms the basis of the fugal finale, which at its climax brings back the opening trumpet and cornet theme of the first movement, another familiar Hindemithian device no less effective here for its familiarity. The concluding consonant chords, enlivened by busily piping woodwinds, stand in striking relief to the edgy harmonic language that characterizes this modest masterpiece.



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