Herbert Blomstedt on Hindemith’s “Nobilissima visione” and Bruckner’s Mass in F minor (15 min.)

Paul Hindemith’s ballet music Nobilissima visione is at once both archaically austere and sensuous. The work reflects Giotto’s medieval frescos depicting the life of Francis of Assisi, which Hindemith discovered for himself in Florence. At the beginning of March 2011, the Berliner Philharmoniker performed Nobilissima visione under the direction of Herbert Blomstedt. The second part of the concert also included a work in which the old and the new merge: Anton Bruckner’s setting of the Mass in F minor. You can find out more about this concert programme in our discussion with Herbert Blomstedt and Simon Halsey.